


Swimming With The Fishes

by instantpuppypaper



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, M/M, Multi, Period-Typical Homophobia, angry son yuri, dad viktor, gay fish in MY ocean??, how is viktor so thirsty for someone who lives in water, more likely than you think, phichit and yuuri bromance, unoriginal mermaid au because i am w e a k, viktor is in love with a fish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-11 13:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8981512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/instantpuppypaper/pseuds/instantpuppypaper
Summary: Viktor, the 'King' of the seven seas; dangerous, pretty, and impossible to catch. Legends say even the ocean was in love with him, rescuing him and his crew when all seemed lost.How little do those legends know, for Viktor was the one in love. He had given his heart to the sea when he was just a child. A mermaid au with pirates, estranged princes, and attractive fish.





	1. Ending How We Started

**Author's Note:**

> Here comes the mandatory mermaid au fic that takes itself way too seriously.
> 
> Feel free to hit up my [tumblr](http://gaycandysquad.tumblr.com)
> 
> Disclaimer: this isn't beta'd and I have very little knowledge of ships. So of course like any sane person I spent a week trying to figure out how they worked. Enjoy.

He was on a ship. It rocked gently with each wave, lulling him to the edge, the ocean was beckoning him to come play. His mother grabbed his arm, gentle, caring. She warned him of the monsters beneath, but the boy wasn't scared.

She tucked silver locks behind his ear, telling him now of the beauty the sea held. She was vast, but she always provided. The ocean loved him, just as she did. The boy loved the ocean too.

Colors swirled above him endlessly, light reflecting off scales too black. Water pushed against him on all sides, furiously trying to warp his body, to flatten it yet stretch it at the same time. He kicked, his mother taught him to kick if he were ever in water.

The more he kicked the deeper he fell. A wave surged, the world spun around him. The boat was being attacked. Flashes of orange and yellow spotted through his vision as he desperately tried to right himself. Water filled his mouth when he tried to breath, only to fill up with more when he tried to spit it out.

His chest was tight, like those corsets his mother wore. Was this what it felt like? More colors filled his vision, blues, pinks, yellows, the whole rainbow. Though they became blotchy and black the more he looked.

He was going to die.

Though, he was ok with that. Perhaps, it would be fine. He wasn't in pain, he was in the ocean’s embrace, he was... happy.

Blue lights filled his vision, a beautiful song of clicks and whistles stroked his ears. A face, human, appeared. Glowing red eyes blinked owlishly at him. The face, chubby, young, drew closer to him, his lips parting just enough to show the glint of impossibly sharp teeth.

He was so sleepy. Even trying in vain to fight it, he found his eyelids were growing heavier by the second. The warm creature stared at him, and the boy stared back until he finally lost the battle and his eyes slipped closed.

The last thing Viktor remembered was a pair of small arms wrapping around his stomach and a soothing clicking in his ear.

_“You’re going to be ok.”_

 

* * *

 

 

A sharp pain traveled up his leg and into his hip. Viktor yelped and jerked forward and away from the source of the pain, falling over, then subsequently off, the desk before him.

The wooden floor was cool to the touch, Viktor decided he could stay there a little longer, though the banshee screeching from his son kept him from fulfilling such an act.

“Get up _old man!_ Ugh, what is this, another bottle? You're hungover again aren't you?”

Viktor rolled onto his back and groaned when a wet tongue met him. He rolled back to his side and used his arm to cover his face from the onslaught of obsessive licking via dog. Satisfied his master was clean enough, the brown mutt released Viktor and trotted out the open door leading to the deck.

Viktor groused his complains as he used his off-white sleeve to wipe off the drool and lifted his neck up enough to see the young blond holding up an empty bottle of rum. He was pinching the lip between his forefinger and thumb with great disdain, corner of his mouth lifted and everything.

“In my defense,” Viktor justified, “I split that one with Chris.”

Yuri gave a disgusted snort in response. He dropped the bottle down on the desk without care and directed his abhorrence to Viktor himself, sprawled out on the floor like some floozy. He rolled his eyes and tugged out the map that was rolled out on the table from under the bottles of whisky and jack.

“It's already well into the day you drunk, you have a ship to run.” With that, Yuri turned heel and left, slamming the door behind him _extra_ loud.

Though that could have just been the hangover starting to set in.

Viktor laid on the floor for a moment longer, then rocked himself up to a sitting position. He drew a hand down his face, the angry pulsing in his head making itself ever the more apparent. He really should stop trying to outdrink his First Mate... Chris can handle alcohol like no other.

He pushed himself to his feet, teetering back and forth as he remembered how to function, then padded to where his boots, coat, and hat, were hung up ever so thoughtfully.

By that, he means that were strewn through the entire cabin. One boot somehow made it’s way onto one of his shelves that stored other maps. Leo liked to keep them all in one place and organized just so. Viktor didn't know why, but he was the sea artist, so Viktor didn't question. He may as well be the pilot too, JJ was useless without Leo hovering nearby.

Did he have a washrag anywhere nearby? He wanted to get that sticky semi-dry drool off his face before facing the crew. Viktor gave the messy room a quick once over, then decided he couldn't be bothered to look any more than that then shrugged on his coat and hat.

He placed a hand on the wall in front of his bed, as he slipped onto his boots. Viktor never even used his bed for sleeping, half was just filled with empty (and full) bottles of rum, some maps and a couple of drawings Yuri did when he was younger. He never had the heart to throw them out.

The other half was carefully arranged pillows that Makkachin slept on like the king he was.

Making sure he felt at least somewhat presentable, Viktor elbowed open the door to the dock.

He hissed out his pain and covered his eyes when the brightness of the sun assaulted him. Viktor withdrew his hand as he heard two voices above him call out their greetings.

He turned enough to see JJ leaning over the wheel of the boat, waving to him with his usual narcissistic grin, Leo was perched beside him with a more genuine grin of his own.

“Aye, how’s she riding today?” Viktor asked, fighting the strong urge to shield his eyes again from the constant attack via sun.

“We’re going 8 knots right now Cap’n, though the wind will pick up later today.” Came Leo’s response.

Not bad, Viktor decided. Since they didn't have any set destination in mind for the time being, the speed wasn't too important to him. Still, it was always good to keep a steady pace out in these waters, never know when the navy’ll rear their ugly mugs.

“Good work.” Viktor praised before he made his way along the poop deck. His mind was still a bit fuzzy from sleep and his currently incessant hangover, so Viktor wasn't quite sure what he should do next.

He massaged his temples, praying for clouds so the sun would stop beating against him with every passing moment. A slap on his back startled him enough to actually jump, earning a laugh from his assailant.

“Morning Captain, I see you’re holding it together pretty well for a lightweight.”

“Cute.” Viktor grumbled, shooting his first mate a stern glare, which rolled off Chris’s shoulders like the laugh it earned him. Makkachin appeared again, nosing his master’s hand until he relented and gave the loyal pooch a few pats on the head.

Chris hung his arm around Viktor’s shoulders and steered the man towards the recovery room, Makkachin close behind as usual.

“Let's get you something for that hangover.” Chris needled, Viktor was sure instead of blood this man just had straight up rum coursing through his veins.

He would have protested the terribly unsubtle nudge to the recovery room, but the sharp pulses in his head urged him to not try and tough it out for pride’s sake this time. Oh well, he’ll get to see his son again today (hopefully in a better mood) so Viktor couldn't find that much of a reason to complain.

The recovery room was basically a compact med bay. The room always smelled like something, currently it smelled like aloe and whisky. Though, as Otabek reminded everyone on the regular, the whisky in his room was not for idle drinking.

Inside the room itself there were two tables, one filled with concoctions, plants, and tools that looked more at place in a torture dungeon than a place to keep the crew well. The other was used for patients, and currently it was in use.

Perched and pouting atop the table in use was Michele (Mikey, as he was known to the crew). He held his shirt in fisted hands, visibly upset, showing the deep purple bruise that spread out around his left shoulder. It was swollen, and looked disgusting, if Viktor were to be frank.

Mikey perked when he seemed to have noticed the trio in the doorway, Chris gently closing the door behind them.

“Afternoon Captain!”

Viktor, glad to be out of the sun, responded with a smile, “I see your shoulder is getting better.”

Mikey flinched at the topic but nodded, “yeah. Still hurts like a bitch though.”

Viktor hummed, not surprised. Two days ago he had dislocated his shoulder trying to patch up a small hole in the side of the ship. He had almost finished and was climbing up the rope to get some nails when JJ had tripped over Makkachin and accidentally jerked the wheel to the left, causing Mikey’s shoulder to get stuck in the hole. Of course he panicked, and dislocated it trying to get free.

Mikey punched JJ, then the two got hammered together. Viktor was glad that was the end of that. Though that could have been thanks to Emil. He _did_ have it on good word that Mikey may or may not have crawled into his cot that night.

Another look at the ugly bruise caused Viktor to decide putting off teasing him for a few more days, thus tucking that juicy piece of gossip into the back of his mind for safe keeping.

Viktor turned his attention away from Mikey and to Otabek who was peering over Yuri’s shoulder as he mixed something. Otabek nodded when Yuri glanced back at him, then mixed the ingredients proper and handed what Viktor presumed was a salve of some sort, to Otabek.

The surgeon looked it over carefully, then smiled and nodded, “perfect.”

It warmed Viktor’s heart to see his son glowing at the praise from his best friend. The two were attached at the hip from day one, much to Viktor’s initial disdain. After all Yuri was _his_ son, he was shy and brash but deep down a kind kid and how dare this stranger just show up and decide he was part of the crew now? Much less his son’s best friend.

Viktor was glad Otabek showed up in the end, he was good for Yuri.

And the crew because damn Viktor had never seen someone perform a successful surgery on someone when their chest was wide open.

Otabek walked up to the table, peering at the swollen mess of a shoulder with narrowed eyes. He prodded around the bruise, earning pained yelps from Mikey, then he grabbed the arm and bent his wrist, then his elbow (that got him a flinch for the poor guy) and finally his shoulder which caused Mikey to scream.

Viktor was so glad that wasn't him.

Yuri hovered next to Otabek, watching his every move closely. Otabek mumbled something to Yuri, who frowned then shook his head, mumbling something back. It was then that Viktor realized he was being completely ignored by the two. How rude.

He scratched his mutt behind his ears, at least Makkachin never ignored him.

Otabek dipped his fingers in the salve Yuri had made and spread it over Mikey’s shoulder, earning another wail from him. The carpenter tried jerking away, but Yuri was faster and grabbed his good arm and pulled him back.

“Stop squirming.” Otabek drawled, a man of few words.

Mikey flinched and did his best to remain still as Otabek finished applying whatever blam he had over the bruised shoulder, he still twitched and whined, but overall was doing a damn good job keeping still.

When Otabek was satisfied with the coverage, Yuri released Mikey and the man slumped over, sweating bullets.

“Rest.” Otabek commanded, wiping his hands with an old rag that was hanging off the end of the table.

Chris moved to the poor guy’s side and helped him off the table, into his shirt, and guided him out of the room, likely down to the sleeping quarters. Viktor felt Makkachin do a little indecisive dance next to him before he decided to stay.

Still not acknowledging him, Otabek knelt down and rummaged through the cabinets filled god knows what, Yuri taking the towel and hanging it up over a beam that stretched along the width of the room.

Viktor cleared his throat, to zero response. _Rude._

“Yuri, can you get some hot water from Gil?” Otabek requested, glancing over his shoulder to him. Yuri nodded and trotted past Viktor, this time with Makkachin in tow. Probably at the mention of Gil, that man always snuck Makkachin snacks.

“I have half a mind to make you suffer with your hangover for the rest of the day.”

Something between a laugh and a painful sounding honk echoed behind him from Yuri as he closed the door.

Viktor meandered to the table and lifted himself on it, placing a hand on his chest in an act of pain, “you wound me.”

“I might if you keep using all our supplies.” Came the even response, though Viktor could see the evil eye he was throwing from the table.

He pursed his lips in a pout, it was times like this that Viktor was glad Otabek was on his crew, that man was intimidating when he wanted to be. The back of his head took tally at the wording of ‘our supplies’. He’d harass Yuri about it tonight.

Otabek pulled out a jar of some yellowish oil, and slivers of what looked to maybe be wood, though it didn't smell like wood. He poured a dash of the oil and threw a few slivers of the maybe-wood into an empty tankard.

He crouched down and was digging through his cabinets once more, looking for something Viktor supposed.

The captain took the time to survey the room. He remembered when it was just a storage room, he liked it better as it was now. Herbs and weird plants were tied off the beams that laid across the ceiling, plus a few rags. The whole place was lined with shelves and other miscellaneous supplies that Viktor didn't even want to try and bother naming.

There was Otabek’s bed in the far right corner, a simple cot with some blankets and pillows, rustled and dirty. They should probably clean their clothes and bedding the next time they drop anchor. Plus that hole still needs to be properly fixed, Sara could probably do it, though convincing Mickey not to have a conniption fit at the mere idea of it would be a touch more difficult.

The door swung open, Yuri stepping his way in, holding Gil’s dutch oven carefully by the handle and waddling it over to a space Otabek quickly cleared out for him to set it on. Yuri grabbed one of the towels hanging up and used it to open the lid and grabbed another empty tankard to scoop out some hot water and deposit it into the one with the ingredients.

Viktor scrunches his nose at the smell that rolls through the room. The smell is sharp, burns his nose hairs some, and he immediately recognizes it as the nastiest drink in the world. He’s had this before to cure his hangovers, and frankly sometimes just dealing with the hangover is better than drinking the concoction.

After stirring the contents together thoroughly, Otabek offers the drink to Viktor, staring at him evenly.

Viktor has half a mind to refuse it but his son pipes in with, “if you don't drink the damn stuff I’ll pour it on your lap. Then you’ll have a hangover _and_ a burnt dick.”

Scowling, Viktor grabbed the drink and eyed it warily, not missing the humored smile that twitched at the corners of Otabek’s mouth from Yuri’s threat though.

With his shoulders sagging in defeat, Viktor downed the scalding drink in a few gulps. Once there was none left he practically hurled the tankard at Otabek, panting and trying not to vomit. It seemed it was enough to placate Otabek as he grabbed the mug that had rolled onto the floor and set it next to the dutch oven, “good. Now go.”

Viktor waved Otabek’s command off, sliding down to his feet. Makkachin wasn't there so that likely meant that Gil was cooking, maybe he’d check in on that.

“Mila’s doing inventory, she wanted to talk to you.” Yuri piped, using a rag to wipe the inside of the cup he had just used.

“Ah, thank you Yurio.”

“ _Ugh,_ I'm not a child anymore old man."

Viktor failed to suppress a laugh at his son’s reaction to his nickname, “aw come on, I’ve called you it for years.”

Yuri proceeded to show he was in fact an adult by sticking out his tongue and turning pointedly on his heel so that Viktor was now looking at his back. Viktor raised a brow and thought of harassing Yuri a bit more, but decided Mila probably would start getting irritable if he kept her waiting too long. Thus, his son was spared.

“Come find me if you need anything.” Viktor offered, giving a halfhearted wave. Yuri groused out an irritated mumble, some sort of insult, he was sure.

Viktor had to cover his eyes the moment hs walked out again, the bright light assaulting his senses once more. It was going to be a long day.

He weaved his way through the crew that was bustling up on the deck, his shoulder brushed Georgi’s causing them both to stumble a bit. Viktor rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered an apology, which the black haired man waved off with a smile then continued lugging some sort of crate across the deck, with Emil’s bouncing sandy hair following close behind with a similar crate.

Curious, but not wanting to spend anymore time above the cabins, Viktor brushed it off and picked his way down the stairs to the main hold. The stairs creaked their agony with each step he took, when Mikey was better he’d have to replace these old things, Viktor half believed they might be older than him.

The Gold Cutlass was an old ship, easily 20 years or so. When Viktor had first gotten her years ago, ten to be specific, she was little more than a retired galleon navy ship that had been repurposed as a glorified fishing boat. She was cheap, and a fixer upper, but once she had gotten some new sails, a bit of upgrades, like a shotgun she cut her way back into action.

He strolled past the cannons on the gun deck, one of the canons was pulled back from it’s hole and was tilted up to the ceiling, likely to keep it from sliding back in it’s hole. Perhaps Georgi was doing repairs on it or something.

Viktor continued down another set of stairs, where he could smell Gil’s cooking. Smelled like fish stew again. They had gotten a good amount of fish recently compared to their other foods, so Viktor wasn't surprised.

Viktor could practically feel Makkachin laying on Gil’s feet hoping for some scraps, he always got them. Gil couldn't turn the cold shoulder away from the endearing mutt, the rest of the crew no problem, but not dear old Makkachin. To be fair Viktor couldn't say no to those big brown eyes either.

At the end of this floor was the entrance to the hold, or the Boatswain’s Bay, as the rest of the crew liked to call it. Mila was almost always there doing inventory, thus it seemed fitting to name it after her role in the crew.

He pushed open the door, and there Mila was, counting to herself on his fingers, with her lover clinging to her like a seductive leech.

“Ho there Mila, Sara.”

Mila turned to greet him with a smile, “Capt’n, I’m surprised Yuri actually did what I asked today. He must be in a good mood.”

Sara, refusing to let go of her partner’s waist, was dragged along for the ride, stumbling over herself briefly before righting her footing and placing her chin back on Mila’s shoulder. She puffed out a breath of air and gave her own sleepy greeting, cheeks lightly dusted pink in what Viktor presumed was a buzz.

“That or he is in a terribly bad mood and just wanted to see me suffer.” Viktor offered up with a laugh, to which Mila responded in mock offence, placing a hand on her chest, though didn't keep the act up long before she started laughing too.

“Come on, it's not that bad down here.”

“Plenty of privacy.” Sara pitched, wiggling her eyebrows at Mila who in turn rolled her eyes. The slurred speech confirmed that Sara was indeed drunk, or at the very least buzzed. It was unusual for her to be drunk so early in the day, Mila seemed to sense his question and shrugged her shoulders, “Mikey and her got into a fight this morning and now they aren't talking.”

“I… see. Will I have to mediate?”

“Nah,” Mila shook her head, “I’ve got it. They both said some things they regret, Sara accidentally drank the whisky and not the rum, so now she’s drunk. They’ll be fine by tonight, always are.”

She was right, Viktor knew, but none the less he did not like conflict on his ship. Especially with an already small crew, and in their line of… less than legal work, everyone needed to be on the same page at all times. They needed to know that they could trust their crewmate with their life, so disputes needed to handled carefully and quickly.

As boatswain, it _was_ Mila’s job, so he reminded himself not to fret. She had yet to let him down.

“Anyway,” Mila started, patting her lover’s head idly, “that’s not why I had the kiddo get you. We are running low on food and ropes. We’ve got enough to comfortably last… say a fortnight, maybe two if we thin ourselves out a bit.”

That was troublesome news. Though Viktor recognised these waters enough to know they were not too far from a well known market port. “How is our gold looking?”

“Good, we’ve plenty.” She responded, turning briefly to leaf through an open ledger resting on a crate. “We’ve got enough to buy food and rope, easily. Maybe some fancy foods if we splurge a bit.”

He’d hold off on splurging in this port, it was not a good one for pirates to show face at, so they’d have to be in an out fast with their heads down. Viktor would probably have to send Gil, and maybe Otabek down for him, since their faces aren't as well known as the rest of the crew.

That and the rest of the crew were wanted criminals, aside from Yuri, but he was criminal by association to him alone.

“I’ll talk to Leo about sailing to the closest port, though we’ll need all hands on deck.” He decided, which immediately made Mila clearly wary.

“That would be the Hasetsu port... wouldn't it it?”

“We’ll be fine. In and out fast enough and they won't even know we were there.” Viktor assured.

“It's a **_military port_ ** , you know what’ll happen if our ship is spotted anywhere near there right?”

“We can drop anchor a out and send in Gil and Otabek on the spare boats with some coin and have them shop for us. If we’re quick enough, there won't be an issue.”

Mila pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed in a sigh, she held the breath for a couple of moments, then let it out. They had done it before, Viktor knew why Mila was so stressed out, but it wasn't that big a deal he was sure. They had gotten out with minimal injuries, a new crew-mate, and it was the closest port he knew of.

“Very well, fine.”

Viktor, pleased at her approval, decided he should probably run this by Leo before he made up any plans in his head. For all he knew there may be another new port they could go to, though Viktor doubted it.

“Nice work Mila,” he bowed his head to her briefly before trotting up the two sets of stairs to get to the main deck.

The moment his eyes were exposed to the sun the throbbing pain came right on back. Thankfully, it was a bit less now, but still enough to force the man to squint while he moved along the deck to the wheel where JJ and Leo remained.

Leo smiled when he noticed Viktor trudge up the steps to get to them, JJ was talking about something though neither of the two were paying much attention to him.

“Where are the closest market ports? Mila says we have ‘bout a fortnight worth of food.”

The man seemed mildly surprised and grabbed a few of the maps he had up on the deck with him. He rolled them out, using thin shivs to pin them in place and keep the edges from rolling back in. Leo worked quickly, expertly fitting the different sheets of paper together like a puzzle only he could solve. Viktor had given up trying to read Leo’s maps years ago.

“Hasetsu is the closest port, just under a day’s sail at our pace.” Leo pointed to a small thick black dot on the edge of some squiggly line Viktor presumed was meant to represent land. “Other than that… there is one two days away, Fukuoka. I don't know much about it admittedly, but we will have to sail past Hasetsu to get there.”

“So it’s potentially dangerous either way.”

“Yes.”

Viktor sighed, rubbing his chin. Even sailing past Hasetsu was dangerous, though like using the port itself, it could be done. Sailing past Hasetsu would still take them right in front of the naval base. If they were lucky, the ships would be docked and they’d pass through undetected, otherwise they’d have the damn navy on their tail. Again.

Though that would still be a risk just porting at Hasetsu since it was neighboring the navy base, going to Fukuoka wasn't all that much much safer in the end, Viktor supposed.

“JJ,” Viktor glanced over his shoulder to the man who was currently at the wheel, “turn her east will you? We’re heading towards Hasetsu.”

“You got it Captain!” He cheered and immediately began steering them to the east.

“We’ll head in that direction for now, then we can decide which port we’ll hit when we get closer.” Viktor informed Leo, who nodded and set to work rolling his maps back up.

Going to Hasetsu would stop them short of the navy, however since it is used so much by their men, it was risky for any pirate to go lest they be spotted. Yet going to Fukuoka would take them right in front of the base, and leave them vulnerable to being attacked with ships.

He would decide which was smarter tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

 

As Viktor suspected, it was fish stew for dinner tonight. He poked at the white fish, watching it flake at the touch. Chris had all but inhaled his portion to his right, his left was occupied but Yuri. Yuri was switching between eating and mumbling to Otabek beside him.

On Chris’s right sat Georgi, Mila, and Sara. Sara appeared to be far more coherent now, though she didn't seem terribly hungry. Mikey was beside her, eating fine, and the two were talking quietly to each other. Viktor was pleased that they seemed to have made up.

Emil sat beside Mikey, their shoulders brushing occasionally, causing the carpenter’s cheeks to dust pink every time. Of course Emil was oblivious, but he’s been oblivious to Mikey’s crush since day one.

Perched beside Otabek was Gil, their striker and cook. He was expressionless as per usual, and seemed content enough with how his food came out. JJ and Leo sat beside Gil, JJ was waving his arms animatedly as he spoke across the table to Emil, Leo was more reserved, hopping between that conversation and a small one he had going to the side with Gil.

Then, of course, there was Makkachin. He felt the dog brush up against his legs, and Viktor knew he was circling under the table, hoping for someone to drop some food for him. He tried to hold back a laugh when he noticed Gil subtly drop a chunk of fish down on the wood below them.

“I hear we’re heading towards Hasetsu.” It was a statement, but the inflection of Chris’s voice spoke of it being a question.

“Yes, we are running a bit low on food and rope. I’d rather stock up at the closest port now before we have to worry too much about it,” Viktor affirmed.

Chris hummed a content enough response, “I see. Well, it seems we’re in for quite the adventure.”

Viktor ran his hand down the length of his face, “I don't know if we’ll port there yet. There’s another one a bit further, Fukuoka, but to get there we sail right in front of the naval base by Hasetsu.”

“Goodie.”

“Do those pigs use Fukuoka too?” Pipped in Yuri, apparently done in his conversation with Otabek.

Leo responded from the other end of the table, “I don't know. It’s a fairly new port, only a year or two old now. It’s not as big as Hasetsu though, I know that much.”

If it was smaller, that meant it probably wouldn't be used by the naval forces as much as Hasetsu. However, that also meant it may not have all the supplies they would need.

“We could pick up enough at Fukuoka to last us longer, then set sail to another port from there.” Mila suggested offhandedly.

Viktor knew Mila didn't want to go to Hasetsu, but Viktor didn't like the idea of his crew living by the skin of their teeth with food either.

“You won't have to step foot on those docks if we stock up there, Mila.” Viktor assured, though as Mila’s nose scrunched up, he knew the words of comfort did little to sooth her.

“Whether we port at Hasetsu or Fukuoka, I have a feeling it's going to be interesting.” Chris warned lowly.

This was not what Viktor wanted to hear, least of all from Chris. In the years they’ve had the Gold Cutlass together, not _once_ had Chris’s gut led them astray. “Interesting _how?_ ”

Chris was silent for a beat, then replied, “I don't know.”

Where was the rum? Viktor didn't have the energy to deal with this sober.

Apparently having read his mind, Chris pushed a flask of whisky to him with a brow raised. Viktor muttered his gratitude and took a swig.

“We’ll sail towards Hasetsu, and tomorrow Leo’ll read the weather and see how fast we can get ‘er moving. If we’re knocking in 10 knots or more, we’ll sail to Fukuoka, otherwise, we’ll stock up in Hasetsu and get out before the navy even knows we were there.”

The crew murmured their agreement, and that was that. Simple, efficient. With no protests, Viktor sunk down in his chair a touch and decided to actually eat his food now, even though it was cold at this point. Makkachin’s snout rested on Viktor’s leg, so he reached a hand down and gently ran his fingers through the warm curls.

Everyone had gone back to their conversations, leaving Viktor content enough to simply watch.

“Vitya,” Chris whispered beside him, “be careful, yeah? I’ve never felt my gut so indecisive before.”

Viktor sighed, “not exactly keeping optimistic here, are we Chris?”

Chris hummed, “I’m your first mate, not your mother.”

“Fair.” He conceded, “let's hope lady luck shines on us then.”

“Yeah… Lets.”

 

* * *

 

 

The ship lurched violently, startling Viktor awake. There was an explosion, Makkachin was snarling at the door. What was going on?

The man stumbled to his feet, only bothering to shove on his boots as the ship lurched again, the sound of splintering wood cracking through his senses. They were being attacked.

Viktor barreled through the door, Makkachin snapping and sputtering as he ran past him. Mikey was aggressively pulling at the ropes, stretching the sails out as far as they could go. Otabek and Yuri stumbled out of the surgeon’s room, disheveled and frantic.

An enormous ship rolled up beside them, Viktor eyes widened as he was met with the sight of a naval Barquentine ship.

 _How did_ \- no. No time for thought, only action.

He dashed back into his quarters and grabbed his pistol and sword, he returned out on deck just as Sara and Gil appeared from below. Sara shoved her brother aside and yanked on the sails herself, managing to unfurl them to max capacity. Gil grabbed the rope from the woman and tied it down.

There was an explosion beneath him as the Gold Cutlass retaliated with a cannonball of her own, Emil and Georgi were already at the canons then. Good.

Shots were fired from the barquentine’s crew, using their pistols in a poor attempt to kill those on deck. Viktor sprinted to the wheel, shouldering JJ aside roughly, “Get below deck! Help Emil and Georgi with the canons!”

JJ hesitated, “Now!” At Viktor’s shouted command, JJ finally put his feet into action and ran past him and Leo down to the gun deck.

A shot grazed his shoulder as he spun the wheel left, away from the barquentine ship. The Gold Cutlass was smaller, so she was more maneuverable. If they could get on the starboard side of the other ship, they’d be able to fire the cannons enough to slow them down. There was no way she could take this ship head on.

But Viktor wasn't known for fighting head on.

They were out of the range of the pistols, but a canon flew and barreled through the side of the ship. Viktor hoped those on the gun deck were safe, but he couldn't leave the wheel now.

“Leo drop the anchor!”

Leo was on his feet in seconds and sprinted along the deck before catapulting himself down the stairs to get to the anchor.

Another hit sent Viktor into the wheel violently, knocking the breath out of him. He pushed himself back up and kept the wheel cocked as far as it could go, ignoring the sweltering pain blossoming in his chest.

He could feel her shake, the anchor was being dropped. The ship heaved a sharp left, creating a whip like effect that quickly spun them to the back of the naval ship.

“Pull up!” He screamed over the canonfire.

He could feel her shudder again, the anchor was being pulled up just as they sailed behind. Explosions hailed from below, the cannonballs hitting the back of the barquentine, leaving holes enough that he was sure water was starting to make it’s way in.

Before he could sail around to the starboard, the Gold Cutlass retched forcefully as wood split below. Viktor rose his head and out of the black of night came not one, but two more naval ships.

 _Impossible,_ how did those pigs know how to find them!?

He didn't have a chance to catch up with his thoughts as a cannon ball flew through one of their masts, shredding it like it had been a mere toothpick. It toppled to the side, crushing the deck below it.

No time for fear. Viktor steeled himself and spun the wheel as far as it could go once more, trying to turn around and away from the ships. This wasn't a fight they could win.

Another cannonball, more splintering. He could feel the Gold Cutlass reel in agony, she wasn't going to stay afloat much longer.

Without one of her masts, the galleon was far slower than she normally was, giving more than enough time for the two naval ships to row up on either side, each firing their canons into the lone ship.

She was being shredded.

“Drop anchor!” He screamed, hoping if they stopped the other two ships wouldn't react quick enough and just pass by him. No response came and he knew his crew couldn't hear him.

“Dad! The ship is sinking!” His eyes zeroed in on his son’s frantic face, blond hair twisting violently in the wind, oranges and yellows flashing over his face as each cannon was fired.

He knew what had to be done.

“Get the rowboats out, take Makkachin and the crew out the side. I’ll distract them.” Viktor tightened his grip on the wheel and hardened his nerves.

“Are you _stupid?!_ We’re not leaving you!” Yuri screeched, though was thrown to the side as another cannonball barreled through them.

“I am your **captain** and you will do as I order you! Get the ships and leave, _now!_ ”

“You're my father first! I’m not-” Yuri’s argument was cut short as another canon fired, this time ripping its way through the other mast.

“They’ll just catch us in the boats after they kill you!” He pleaded, desperation clinging to every syllable.

Viktor knew he couldn't argue with that, but as he looked at Yuri, he’d do everything in his power to give the child, no the _man,_ before him a fighting chance. He had grown so much from the little angry orphan boy he was when they met, Viktor wanted him to keep growing.

“Go! This is the only chance the crew and you will have to escape!”

“But-”

“The crew needs you, _Otabek_ needs you! I’ll be fine, I always am.”

Tears welled up in Yuri’s eyes, but just like their creator, were too stubborn to fall, “you're so stupid old man!”

“Too stupid to die.” Viktor confirmed with a grin, trying not to loose it when another cannonball flew through the ship. “Now go!”

Yuri gave him one last baleful glance, then disappeared below deck. He could only hope the crew would get to the boats in time.

He released the wheel, it wasn't doing much at this point anyway, and pranced along the deck. It was him they wanted anyway, he _was_ the one who got away.

“Hey! Blasted... cease fire will you? You want me? You’ve got me!” He hollered, waving his arms around and dancing in place, effectively getting the navy’s attention.

The canons ceased to fire, thankfully, and planks were thrown down to board the sinking ship. He was going to miss the Gold Cutlass, she always did right by him.

The captains of the ship marched down, and behind one of them, was someone who made Viktor’s blood simultaneously run cold and boil in rage.

A member of the King’s council.

Viktor held back a snarl as the old man approached. He was short, bulbous, hair powered white, though with his age Viktor doubted he needed to powder anything to get that snowed look.

Though Viktor wouldn't be surprised if Jackson was bald.

“Ah, Viktor, what a pleasant surprise. It’s always nice to see family.”

“You were _never_ my family,” Viktor bit out.

“Hm. No, not by blood anyhow. Your parents sure saw me as family though.” He hummed, clasping his hands behind his back while strolling around the battered and slowly sinking galleon.

“Honestly I was sure the pirate life would have killed you by now. Its rather unorthodox for someone of your… upbringing to flourish in such distasteful company.” He stopped behind him, “though you always were a bit distasteful, weren't you?”

“How did you find us?” Viktor growled lowly, ice cold eyes following the bastard’s every move.

“Would you believe mutiny?” Jackson hummed, stepping into his idle stroll again.

“How did you _really_ find me?”

“Ah, ever the loyal one I see. I bet you believed Yakov when he said you’d be visiting your uncle too.”

It took every ounce of willpower he had not to pull his pistol out and empty a few shots into this man’s head.

“Truth is, some fellow pirates saw you sailing around in these waters, we figured you may try and stock up at Hasetsu, so we decided to meet you halfway. How generous of us.”

“ _Quite._ ”

“Sir, the ship won't be above water much longer,” piped one of the captains.

This drew a sigh from Jackson, “ah what a shame. I was so enjoying catching up with my favorite pirate. You know how it is though, business before pleasure.”

He moved to stand beside the captain and smiled a disgustingly warm smile, “time to finish what we started ages ago, hm? Shoot him and throw him over.”

This seemed to surprise the captain, “should we not bring him in for questioning?”

Jackson waved the man off, “please. This man is an eel and just trying to keep him captive is asking for him to break out. Besides, we can always question his crew.”

“ _Leave them alone you slimy-_ ” Viktor’s rage was cut short when a sound rang through his ears, a gunshot.

He looked down to see red blossoming from his shoulder, apparently Jackson took it upon himself to shoot Viktor. Thankfully he was a shit shot.

Another shot. This time to his chest.

Pain swelled through his entire being, but Viktor would not kneel.

“Tough guy, eh?” Jackson hummed, reloading the pistol ildy. He fired another shot, though this one grazing his left shoulder, enough to make him stumble and fall to his knees, clutching his chest. He was on fire.

“Throw him overboard,” Jackson commanded, handing the used pistol back to the captain, “maybe this time the sea won't spit him back up.”

Viktor’s vision swam, he tried to speak, but it only came out a garbled mess, blood replacing words.

A pair of hands grabbed his roughly. He wouldn't let them kill him.

He tried to fight, but his body no longer listened to him. None of his muscles responded to his desperate attempt to struggle free. He couldn't die, Yuri needed him.

Yet, as the air on the way down to the water brushed past him, he knew that this may just be one time the water would not be able to save him.

Cold swallowed him, the inky dark of the sea filling his senses. His chest burned, the salt biting into his wounds, but even in the pain he couldn't get his body to move. Instead, he sank.

Fitting, in a way, Viktor mused. To die in the ocean, the very water that had saved him not once, but twice. He always hoped when it was his time, he would die in it’s cool embrace.

Movement stirred his attention, blue lights, red eyes.

It couldn't be.

After all this time… He had found it again.

It approached him, endless colors reflecting from the creature’s long black tail. Its, _his,_ face was gentle, rounded at the edges. Eyes glinting red as light bounced from the water’s surface.

Black fins sprouted from either side of his face, ears, Viktor realized dimly, his face was cradled by hair as black as his tail. Viktor drank in as much as he could, wanting the creature’s gentle face to be the last thing he remembered.

It came closer, their foreheads brushing against each other as Viktor watched on in weak fascination. The creature’s eyes were incredible. They were an inky black, like a shark’s, yet with each glint of light, they reflected red.

The black shrunk into barely visible slits suddenly, a gentle chittering coming from him as his eyes switched rapidly between the cat-eyed slits and the fully black shark eyes.

He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. This was the end of the line for him.

Viktor smiled and weakly managed to coax his arm up to touch the side of the creature’s face, causing it to freeze immediately and stare at him with slitted eyes.

Blue lights spotted through his vision as it grew dark, he vaguely remembered the being wrapping it’s soft arms around him, before everything went dark and silent.

“ _You're going to be ok._ ”

He was at peace.

 


	2. How Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor wakes up and finds himself in a strange situation. Thankfully, he doesn't get shot again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh thank you to everyone who have been leaving comments on my last chapter !!!  
> I wasn't expecting people to like it as much as they did, thank you! Reading those comments really made my week, they meant so much to me.
> 
> I'm thinking about updating weekly or bi-weekly on Fridays or Saturdays.
> 
> I hope you all liked this chapter as well! We'll really be getting the story going next chapter, I hope everyone is excited.
> 
> Friendly reminder: Not beta'd, forgive me for mistakes

Yuri must’ve brought Viktor’s food to his desk again. The smell of cooked fish coaxed him to a somewhat awake state, it was a bit herbier than Gil’s usual cooking, herbs and spices were incredibly difficult to come by these days.

They must have gone to Hasetsu already? Viktor knew that wasn't right.

He was in a bed. Viktor never used his bed, and this certainly wasn't a cot in Otabek’s room.

He was shot, the ship was sinking. Surely Mikey couldn't fix _that_.

Viktor groaned, forcing his eyes to actually open, and was greeted with a ceiling that most certainly did not belong to his ship. It didn't even seem to be made of normal wood, instead there were support beams made of what looked to come from a coconut tree, or some other soft kind of wood. Stretched along the roof were plates of what could be chopped wood, or maybe some sort of dried out plant, effectively keeping the elements at bay.

He shifted, feeling pain snake through his chest. He was shot, and the ship sank.

Memories rushed back Viktor, leaving him to wonder how he was alive, for one, and two; how had he gotten on land?

Much less into someone’s _home._

The creature… Viktor closed his eyes again and recalled the face of the being that had saved him three times now. It was different than it had been before, back when he was fifteen, much less eight.

He couldnt be surprised though, the very little he recalled of the creature painted a picture of a child. Now, it was gone again. It was infuriating, knowing he had been so close to actually truly meeting the creature that had been as a guardian angel to him, only for it to have just slipped through his fingertips.

Viktor drew in a breath and pushed himself up into a sitting position, managing the feat despite his shaking arms.

His eyes scanned the small cabin, it was definitely made from the wood of a coconut tree, or some similar sort of wood. Despite what it appeared to be made of, the place actually looked quite sturdy.

Along the walls there were occasionally little areas of another color of wood, chips and cracks peppered the wall, some filled in some not. It looked old, but it looked as though it could weather far more than it may have initially seemed.

There were glass windows, surprisingly, and even a hand-made fireplace of sorts, that Viktor only just realized was the source of the smell.

That, and he was not alone in the cabin.

Before the fireplace, a man was crouched, poking at a dutch oven sitting atop open flames. Viktor had never seen this person before.

His skin was dark, darker than JJ’s, with short black hair that rested against the man’s neck. He wore simple clothing, an off-white shirt that had stains on the rolled up sleeves, paired with a pair of simple slacks that were rolled up to mid-calf. They were clothes of someone who was a farmer, maybe a blacksmith or an architect.

The clothes fit him well, but were loose enough to show that the clothing had not been tailored for him. His boots were simple, not particularly anything to write home about, but were nice enough for Viktor to tell that the man seemed to make decent money.

His shoulders were rolled back, proud, but the way he sat idly on the floor gave way to a humble lifestyle. Yet it was underlined with a sort of pride that didn't normally come from someone of the lower class.

Needless to say Viktor was curious about his host, but worries over his son and crew flooded the forefront of his mind. Did they make it out?

The man seemed to have felt Viktor’s newfound consciousness and turned his head to look over his shoulder at him. His eyes widened, mouth opening a touch, only to then bounce into a smile.

“You're awake, I’m impressed! I thought you’d be dead in another day or two, look at you.” The young man laughed, “thanks for saving me the work of lugging your dead body out of my bed though.”

The polite thing to do would have been to thank the stranger for keeping him alive, but Viktor was not the polite sort, “who are you? Did you see any other people with me? How did I get here?”

Viktor continued to barrage the stranger with questions, leaving the poor man to grow progressively more confused then the confusion morphed in annoyance, until he finally grew irritated enough to clear his throat.

Once Viktor had snapped his mouth closed, the stranger squinted at him, blatantly studying him. After a moment, he replied with “How much do you remember?”

He remembered everything. However, Viktor didn't know this man.

He had been called crazy before when speaking of the creature who had saved him in the past, and at the moment with no place to go or anyone to help treat his wounds, Viktor decided against mentioning him to the young man.

This wasn't someone Viktor wanted to think he was crazy.

“I don't remember much of anything.” Viktor lied through his teeth like a professional, granted, in a sense Viktor _was_ a professional. He had lied his ways out of many a conflict, he’s evaded arrests thanks to his silver tongue before.

Never once had Viktor been caught in a lie

Yet as the young man stared at him a beat longer before returning to poke at the cooking fish, Viktor got the impression that he didn't quite believe him.

“I’m Phichit.” He mentioned casually, rocking back on his heels away from the fire.

“Where am I?” Viktor inquired in a similar idle tone. He knew better than to give his name at this point, he was _quite_ the wanted man.

“On my island.”

Viktor scowled at Phichit, who only gave him a bit of a snide smile, though there didn't seem to be anything malicious behind it. Still, he needed to find his crew and his son, who knows how long he had been unconscious.

“Where is the closest port? I need to get there right away.”

“Do you want to get shot again?” Phichit replied with a raised brow, then followed with, “there aren't really any ports near here anyway. Ships don't sail through these waters.”

“...Why?” A wave of dread washed over Viktor. There were few places that sailors wouldnt go, the only reason ships wouldn't come here was a danger in the water.

To which Phichit’s only response was some sort of noncommittal grunt, and Viktor found himself uncharacteristically irritated. The only reason he would be so vague was if he was hiding something, which set Viktor on edge immediately.

Men with secrets were those who could not be trusted.

Viktor knew well enough that it was hypocritical, but in his defence, his own secret was not something to be revealed to anyone. Not anymore.

A shaky hand moved to his chest, his shirt must had been cut away when Phichit had treated his wounds, and clutched a gold amulet that had been around his neck for as long as he had lived. The faded engraving of a double-headed eagle pressed against his palm, a familiar feeling that reminded him of his childhood.

Phichit stood and walked away from the cooking fish, and over to a simple table that was piled with bloodied and clean rags, some bandages, jars of salves and herbs, and simple diningware.

He grabbed two plates and two forks, before crouching before the fire again carefully picked out the fish from the dutch oven. After both plates had fish on them, he stood and handed one of the meals to Viktor, “here you are. Have’ta eat if you want to get your strength back.”

Viktor grabbed the plate and found he wasn't terribly hungry. The food smelled amazing, the herbs really added to the scent, but he didn't really feel like eating it.

Still he knew he had to eat _something_ and forced himself to eat at the very least a bit of the food provided. He doubted he’d be able to stand now, so anything he could do to get himself in functioning form would be done.

His crew, his _family,_ was out there and if they had been kidnapped, the gallows would be what awaited them. There mere thought sent ice through his veins.

“You showed up here a few days ago, you were unconscious then, and haven't woken up until now.” Phichit started abruptly, “I’m surprised you’re as, well coherent, as you are.”

Viktor managed to shove the entire serving down his gullet, it tasted delicious yet bland at the same time. Though he coughed that up to him not really wanting to eat in the first place.

“Do you have a ship?” He inquired, surely this man had a way off the island.

Even if there weren't any ports nearby, there _had_ to be one within at least a few days sail. He needed to get to land and keep an ear to the ground for his crew. He may not have any coin, but he knew how to work a person for information.

“I’m a fisherman, of course I do.” Was the simple reply, though Phichit’s voice seemed strained, cautious even.

“Can I use it to get to the closest port? I just need to get to land, then you can have it back.”

Phichit initial response was laughter, catching Viktor off guard completely.

“You honestly believe I’d be willing to sail with a pirate, _Viktor?_ ” He rolled, “you think I’d just ‘ _lend’_ you my ship? My livelihood?”

Nausea slammed through Viktor, not only did Phichit know he was a pirate, but he knew _who_ he was. He would be turned into the military for sure. He had accepted his death at the hands of the sea, but he’d be damned if he were to die by some noose.

Phichit calmed from his cackling fit, and massaged his right cheek, a more serious note hanging in the air, “besides… A storm is rolling in soon, my ship wouldn't be able to brave that sort of weather. So even if I were willing to sail with you, I couldn't.”

“Please, I need that ship! I will do whatever you want, my crew and my _son_ are out there and I need to know they are safe. I fear they were kidnapped, I can't let them get hanged.”

The Viktor Nikiforov did _not_ beg, but he would kiss this man’s damn boots of it meant he would agree to help him find his son and crew.

Phichit’s brows furrowed, eyes glancing down to his own empty plate, conflict spreading through his features.

“There isn't anything I can do now. The storm will destroy my ship, and you’d be no use to your crew dead.” He murmured softly, running a hand through his hair.

When his hand was halfway through his hair, he stopped and set his plate on the floor, “do you have a dog? Brownish one, curly hair?”

Makkachin?

That couldn't be right. He was with Yuri, the only way Makkachin could be here was if his crew had been captured. Makkachin wouldn't leave Yuri without good reason by choice.

“I… do.  There is no way he could be here though, he’s with my son.”

Phichit hummed, “not sure how he got here, but given it took me quite some time before the dog even let me near you, I’d say it's a safe bet.”

He finished what he had left of his fish and stood, grabbing Viktor’s plate from his shaking hands. That was impossible. The only feasible way he could be here was if his son had been kidnapped.

Viktor’s shoulders shook, his hands reaching up to cover his face. He had been unconscious for days, if… if they had been kidnapped…

A hand on his back drew him from his thoughts. Viktor looked up from his hands to see Phichit there. He looked a bit uncomfortable, and his jaw was set in a way that gave Viktor the impression he was conflicted. Viktor didn't blame him, afterall, he was _The_ Viktor Nikiforov.

“I’ll go get your dog, I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you awake.” Phichit finally offered.

“No, no. I can get-”

Before Viktor had a chance to finish even trying to stand, Phichit pushed him back down sternly, “No. You stay here, you can't stand, much less walk all the way down to the beach. I’ll get him.”

As much as Viktor would have liked to protest, he knew that in this case, Phichit had a point. So he eased himself back down to a laying position, his chest burning with each breath. Maybe sitting up before had been a touch overzealous.

After Phichit was sure Viktor wouldn't move, he trotted out of the cabin, leaving Viktor to his thoughts.

Yuri, his son, he had to be alright. He _had_ to be. His crew, they were his family. Without them he… he couldn't go on.

Years of trust, mutual understanding, and love had brought them together. They had been left for dead, run out of towns, some had even been treated like a plague. Yet, somehow, they had found each other.

Fate had a funny way of giving Viktor a new family.

He couldn't, _wouldn't,_ accept they were dead, not until he saw their cold dead bodies himself.

That damn lump in his throat just wouldn't go away.

A bark grabbed Viktor’s attention just before brown curls filled his vision as Makkachin tried to get himself onto the bed, stepping all over Viktor in the process. Viktor cried out his pain, startling Makkachin enough to fall out of the bed.

He clutched his chest, fire spreading through his body. It took a few minutes, before finally the pain subsided enough for him to roll onto his side and open his eyes. The moment he did his face was assaulted with a tongue.

Viktor pushed himself up to sit on jellylike arms, sputtering and wiping his face with the back of his hand. He could hear Phichit’s failed attempt to contain his laughter as the man walked to the table.

“Here, for the slobber.” Phichit offered, holding a clean rag out to him.

Viktor mumbled his thanks and used it to wipe the drool off, then handed it back to Phichit. He made a disgusted noise, and threw it to the table, aggressively wiping his hand on his pants as he muttered to himself.

His gaze returned to Makkachin, whose nails were clicking on the wood flooring beneath them as he shifted his weight back and forth. Knowing what was coming, Viktor shielded his face just in time for the wave of water to erupt from Makkachin’s thick pelt.

Phichit was not so lucky, and got soaked.

Viktor chuckled and reached out to the now only slightly damp pooch and ran his hand through the curls. He was so glad to see Makkachin, even if the potential meaning behind it turned his blood to ice.

“Why was he so wet?” Viktor inquired, while Makkachin was never afraid of water like Yuri was, he usually didn't seem all that interested in it. Had he fallen off a rock or something?

Phichit fished wiping his face off with a rag and answered, “He was playing with-” he stumbled over his words for a moment, “H-he was playing with the fish.”

Viktor inclined his head in Phichit’s direction, confused by the sudden stuttering. Though, he opted against saying anything for the moment, but the seed of suspicion had been planted.

“Makkachin isn't usually one for playing in the water.” Viktor mentioned offhandedly, rubbing the mutt’s ears to keep him from attempting to stare down Phichit and get answers from him.

Phichit laughed, “The fish around these parts are quite friendly.”

Viktor squinted up at him, studying Phichit for any sign of dishonesty. To his surprise, Viktor found none. How in Davy Jone’s locker were fish ever amiable, did they even _have_ brains?

Phichit was no help as he simply went outside, seemingly flat out ignoring Viktor’s confusion.

He returned shortly with some wood and stoked the fire. He poked at it a few times with a metal rod of some sort that had been resting against the sloppily made fireplace, then used a broom that had been resting on the other side to sweep the sand that had gotten out from under the wood back into the pit.

Viktor moved his right hand down under Makkachin’s chin, rubbing beneath his slightly drooping jowls.

After a moment he looked to Phichit and asked, “How did we get here anyway?”

Phichit doesn't face Viktor when he answers, “Don't know, you just sort of washed up on the beach.”

Viktor’s eyes zeroed in on a slight twitch of the fingers on his right hand, _he was lying._

This is the second time now that this man was blatantly hiding something, and Viktor grew more wary.

A part of him wondered if perhaps Phichit knew the creature, and was trying to protect it.

He decided that bringing up the subject of his rescuer would not be wise for now. Instead he busied himself with Makkachin, currently seated beside the bed.

“You should get some rest. We can talk about getting you out of here tomorrow.” Phichit promised, gathering up a few empty jars and making his way out of the cabin.

Viktor’s heart swelled with hope, if Phichit helped him off to the nearest port, there’d still be a chance to try and find his crew and son. Maybe, just maybe, they had gotten away, or at the very least, they were alive.

He grunted as he lowered himself down on the bed. Carefully, he managed to move himself over enough to give Makkachin just enough space to crawl up into the bed beside him. The dog took the opportunity and crawled in beside Viktor, giving soft snorts as he did.

Viktor laughed and ran the hand closest to him through the coarse fur, he could feel the nub of Makkachin’s tail bat against his leg in response.

“We _will_ find them,” Viktor whispered gingerly, “We’ll have our family back together in no time.”

Memories of recent years flowed through his mind, a smile gracing his features, he’d find his son and his crew. Viktor wouldn't stop until he did.

 

* * *

 

 

Pain was still present in every fiber of his being. Still, Viktor was not one to let a little bit of hurting keep him from doing things.

He pushed himself to an upright position, and gave himself a chance to get situated. Phichit wasn't in the cabin currently, though Makkachin was laying in front of the fire.

The dog noticed he was awake and scrambled to his feet, bounding over to his master and resting his front paws on the edge of the bed.

Viktor groaned when Makkachin tried licking his face again, and pushed the overzealous mutt away. The dog chuffed and then rested his chin on the bed, which Viktor rewarded by rubbing the animal’s head affectionately.

Just as he began to wonder where his host was, Phichit trotted in soaking wet with fish in hand and a grin decorating his lips.

He paused in the doorway, then smiled a greeting to Viktor, “another day alive I see, good on you.”

“I’ve been ‘alive’ for three days.” Viktor retorted, a touch of humor lacing his voice.

It had been three days since Viktor had first woken up, since then Phichit and he and grown into a sort of comfortable acquaintanceship. Phichit agreed to help him get to the nearest port, which was a four days sail from where they were, and happened to be Fukuoka. However, they would not leave until the coming storm passed.

Viktor was curious how he could be so sure of the weather when the skies were clear and blue, from what he could see out the window. He chalked it up to one of the many secrets Phichit was keeping from him.

They didn't talk much, he didn't think, much of the last few days had been a haze. Enough to get vaguely acquainted, but not so much that Viktor would consider him an ally. He had a feeling that the sentiment was mutual.

Phichit strolled to the table and laid out two fish onto an empty plate. He pulled a knife from his pants, briefly flashing a flintlock pistol as he did so. Viktor wondered if it was loaded.

With a practiced precision, Phichit sliced off the fins of the fish, then used the back of the knife to get rid of the scales. The way his hands moved appeared as if they had been doing this his whole life.

How long _had_ Phichit lived alone on this island?

“Can I help?” Viktor inquired, he hadn't been able to do anything since he had woken up, and frankly Viktor was itching to give his hands something to do.

“It's fine, quicker if I do it myself.” Phichit explained, and while Viktor knew it was technically true, he couldn't help but wish he had held punches back a little.

It doesn't take long for Phichit to finish gutting and cleaning the fish. He takes the fillets and sets them into the dutch oven, with some water and a pinch of something from a little jar that was tucked beside the fireplace.

A silence settled over the cabin. Not even Makkachin made any noise, aside from his occasional snore from beside the bed.

“You mentioned sailors don't come to these waters, why?” Viktor breaks the silence, hoping that their vague acquaintanceship would earn him at least something like legend or some sort of superstition from the man.

Still, Phichit only shrugs in response. Perhaps he truly didn't know, though Viktor was not convinced of it.

“You know, I remembered something last night.” Viktor started, wondering if he could perhaps draw something out of Phichit this way.

Phichit glanced over his shoulder at him, his expression surprisingly neutral. Slight twitches at the corner of his mouth showed through the calm facade.

Viktor pressed on, “I remember something, or someone, saving me. I blue lights too.”

Phichit’s body tensed, “It was probably just the water playing tricks on you. You know how you get when you drown.”

It was then that Viktor knew for sure that Phichit was aware of the creature he spoke about.

Viktor didn't reply, and after a beat, Phichit turned his attention back to cooking. The idle silence from before was strained with tension.

Phichit did what he could to hide the stress pouring off of him in waves, though it did nothing to fool Viktor. Nonetheless, he decided not to bring it up again just yet.

He remembered the pistol Phichit had on him, he didn't feel like pushing the man too far and getting shot, again.

When the fish were done, Phichit shoveled them out of the dutch oven and handed Viktor a plate with a fork to eat with.

There was a brief moment where their eyes met and they sized each other up. Phichit’s black eyes were cold, a silent warning that was not lost on Viktor.

After a moment, Phichit stood and left the plate in Viktor’s hands, sitting on the floor near the fire as he ate his own portion.

With Viktor’s appetite returning, he was actually able to really taste the fish, Phichit was an excellent cook. Though, he also had the advantage of spices, something that was hard to come by as a pirate.

Or as a fisherman when he thought about it.

Phichit inhaled his meal, in a rush for whatever reason. He stood and dumped the plate onto the table’s pile for dirty dishes. After looking back to see if Viktor had finished his portion, he hadn't, Phichit grabbed his knife from the table and toed on his boots.

“I’m heading to my ship, I think I have more bandages in there.” He mentioned with forced casualty.

Viktor nodded and watched Phichit trot out the door, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Once he was sure his host was gone, Viktor threw the blankets back and placed the fish on the floor for Makkachin to eat. Phichit was going to see the creature, he was sure of it. After so long, Viktor was not about to just let some man send it away.

He drew in a breath and placed his bare feet on the cold wood. So far so good.

Viktor steeled his nerves and scooted to edge of the bed, then slowly pushed himself up and into a standing position. He wobbled, throwing his hands out to catch himself incase he fell, but Makkachin was there to give him the support he needed to keep himself standing.

Once his footing was more secure, he released Makkachin’s fur, and the dog made a beeline to the plate of fish on the floor.

Picking one step at a time, Viktor began to actually walk. He was shaky, and had to stop every couple of steps to orientate himself, but he was actually walking again!

He carefully padded out of the cabin, watching as Phichit made his way down to the beach. Viktor’s hunch was correct, it seemed.

Viktor waited a moment, then stepped onto the rough grass the cabin was built on. It seemed that the island was actually far larger than he had initially thought. Certainly not large enough for a civilisation, but enough for there to be a forest and some small hills decorating it’s center.

The grass eventually gave way to sand, which was nearly impossible to walk on. One, it was hot from the sun’s blaring rays, and two, the sand shifted so much it was hard to get a good stance to actually walk.

He fell twice.

Somehow managing not to make any noise, he took notice of a small sea cave that was nestled into a rock cape. The area around it was all rocks, and walking barefoot through it was not something Viktor looked forward to.

His creature was in there, he was sure of it. So he pressed on.

Preparing himself once more, he carefully shuffled through the rocks, picking his steps carefully to only step on the dryest part of them. Which unfortunately for many, was nonexistent. It appeared the tide could get pretty high here.

Soon the sand gave way to the sea, leaving the only means to get to the cave was to actually hop across the rocks.

Viktor had long legs, se he was able to manage by keeping side pressed against the jagged surface of the cliff, and easing his way to each rock. It didn't take as long as he suspected it would have until finally, the precarious footing became far more solid. He had reached the entrance to the cave.

Wary, Viktor pressed his back flush against the shale, and inched his way to the actual mouth, peering inside.

The cave was small, though it was stuffed with items of all sorts. There were books, papers, even ropes and nets that looked to have once belonged to ships. What was pressed against the back of the cave could only be described as endless treasure, no wonder Phichit was able to afford the spices.

Gold and jewelry were stuffed haphazardly into chests, most of them splintered or broken in one way or another. Many of them had warped wood, likely thanks to the repeated exposure to the rising tide’s salt water.

The center of the cave had something like a little pool. When Viktor looked to the water where he was, he could see what appeared to be a hole, likely leading into that very pool.

A flash of something darting into the hole immediately snapped his attention to where Phichit was sitting at the edge of the pool. His boots had been kicked off, and his trousers were rolled up to his knees, likely to keep them from getting wet as he let his legs hang into the water.

Then, something incredible happened.

Viktor had to cover his mouth when he saw a head and shoulders appear from the pool’s water. It was the creature, he was _sure_ of it.

Black hair stuck to the beings face, which was roughly pushed back by a strangely human hand. It moved to rest it’s arms and chin on the side of the pool, letting out a sigh.

“Did you tell her?” Phichit asks, rubbing the creature’s head in an affectionate gesture.

It groaned and rolled over, flashes of black scales surfacing as he moved. He rested his shoulder blades and head against the rock, closing his eyes.

This was _definitely_ the creature that had saved Viktor’s life, yet in the light above water, it seemed far more human than he remembered.

“No, I tried, but…” The being gave a hefty sigh, “I couldn’t.”

“Hm.” Phichit tapped his fingers against his thigh, “Well, you're definitely going to have to now.”

The creature’s head snapped up, “Did he remember something?”

“Yeah… He played it off as vague, but I have a feeling he remembers a lot more than he let on.”

The creature groaned, and slid into the water until it brushed against his chin, “This is terrible. Now what? I have to tell my mom now, _especially_ if he remembers everything.”

Phichit shrugged his shoulders, giving the being a gentle pat on its head, “Don't worry, if he becomes a problem I’ll take care of it. Always do.”

Viktor did not quite like the sound of Phichit ‘taking care of it’ and distinctly remembered the pistol he carried. Would his knowledge of the creature truly that much trouble?

“I know, but this is starting to get… I don't know. Ridiculous.”

Phichit hummed his agreement, “Yeah, but it's for the pod’s safety. You know what happened to the selkie up north.”

A loud sigh escaped the creature, he disappeared into the water as he sank down, only to shortly appear again. He rested his folded arms on Phichit’s legs, a scowl decorating his soft features.

“Guang-Hong knows, obviously, Minami probably knows then too… Minako I think has some suspicious, she's been giving me that _look,_ you know the one.”

Phichit laughed and ran his hands through the being’s black hair, “That or she thinks you're trying to set her up with your sister.”

“Mari’s on her own this time, I refuse to help again.”

“Well Minako hasn't had been with anyone for a while,” Phichit pointed out, “I think she’s into Mari, though probably is waiting to see if Mari has enough fin to actually give her a clam.”

“Ugh.”

Phichit tugged on the sides of the creature’s mouth, revealing sharp teeth that looked more at home on something from the deep ocean than such a pretty face. Viktor didn't know how Phichit was comfortable enough to just grab his face and stretch it like that.

The creature’s eyes slitted, much like that had back when it - _he_ \- saved him. Though they returned to the size of a normal human’s after a moment.

“Don't be so crass, I know you have like, five, clams just waiting to be given away.” Phichit hummed.

The creature scowled at him and pulled back enough to be free of the fisherman’s fingers.

“I’ll just be like Ciao Ciao, collect them and give them to friends when they find a mate.” He grumbled, resting his chin on his hands.

Phichit snorted and moved his hands back to the creature’s head. He fiddled with the wet black hair idly, running it between his fingers before eventually attempting to braid it.

Viktor felt something akin to jealousy, though wouldn't quite say that was what it actually was.

Gazing on, it was almost surreal to see his savior alive and actually sentient. Sure, he figured that it would hold at least some basic knowledge. It seemed almost, if not just as, smart as a human.

Viktor’s brow furrowed, the way it articulated, the way it - he - seemed to think, it was just as if he were a person that lived in the sea.

Obviously, he knew, that it was impossible. The closest of anything similar to such a wild notion was a mermaid, and those were just tales of drunken sailors who had mistaken a large fish for a human woman.

A flash of black scales surfaced above the water again, the light reflecting off of them in a sort of rainbow effect.

The more Viktor watched Phichit and the creature, the more Viktor began to come to terms with what he was actually seeing. That wasn't just some smart fish, he began to slowly realise, it was a _mermaid._

Such a thing didn't exist out of stories though. They were just an excuse drawn up by poor sailors who had crashed ships.

Right?

A bark from behind him jerked Viktor away from his thoughts, Makkachin bouncing past him. The dog, clearly not aware of the impact it’s limbs could have, shouldered Viktor into the water in his excitement to dash inside.

If Viktor had been in full health, he decidedly wouldn't have fallen, but he was weak and as such, toppled into the water. He was lucky it was decently deep, otherwise he would have gotten thrown right into the rocks.

A hand came from the surface and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the rocks and into the sand.

When it became shallow enough, Viktor rubbed the water out of his eyes, ignoring Phichit as his eyes fully met with his savior, a _mermaid_ of all things.

Perhaps the tales were true, that they could lure humans to their death with their song and charms. With just with a look, Viktor found himself thoroughly infatuated.

His eyes didn't leave the mermaid, and to his giddy pleasure, the mermaid didn't break eye contact either. Their eyes remained on each other until Phichit dropped Viktor on the damp sand, causing him to fall back without the support from the arm he had been holding.

Viktor pushed himself up and before he had a chance to complain something cold was pressed against his forehead. A beat passed before he registered what it was, the pistol Phichit had been carrying was now pressed firmly between his eyes.

He looked up to see the face of a man who had no qualms about shooting him right there and then.

Phichit’s black eyes narrowed, though the words he spoke were calm; “what do you plan to do now that you know the existence of Yuuri’s kind?”

_Yuuri?_

Viktor looked to his side to see the mermaid (or was it merman?) resting as close as he could be without being in the shallows. Was that his name, Yuuri?

Despite himself, Viktor began to laugh. Of all names his savior could have, he shared a name with his son.

There was a click from the pistol on his forehead, and Viktor scrambled to explain himself, “I don't plan on doing anything with the knowledge! I was laughing because Yuri is the name of my son, you know, the one I told you about.”

Phichit stared him down and Viktor couldn't help but feel he was looking at a completely different man now.

“I only wanted to properly thank the one who saved me,” Viktor hastily continued, “he saved me three times now, surely it's not unreasonable to wish to show gratitude. Even _pirates_ are thankful sometimes.”

Not incredibly convinced, Phichit looked out to Yuuri. Viktor would have turned his head to look as well, but was worried if he moved the gun would make short work of his head. After a moment, Phichit’s muscles relaxed and the gun was pulled from his head.

Just as Viktor was drawing a breath of relief, a shot echoed beside him, sand erupting from the place the bullet had gone. He gave Phichit a startled glance, he now was less cold than he had been just before, though still clearly weary of him.

“You can live, but the moment you become a danger to my pod I won't be shooting the sand.”

Viktor stared at him incredulously, _his_ pod?

Makkachin barking urged him to force his eyes from Phichit and out to sea where the mutt was splashing in the shallows around Yuuri.

To Viktor’s surprise, it seemed the merman was actually humoring the dog. He would dip under the water, and Makkachin’s head would dip under as well, looking for him until he would pull his head up and bark. When he barked, Yuuri would pop up again and the game would restart.

Yuuri went under again, Makkachin following suit, until the merman launched himself out of the water and draped his torso over the back of the mutt. He wiggled and barked, though calmed down once hearing Yuuri’s laugh.

The dog’s ears perked and his head turned to stare at Viktor, then he snorted and sloshed through the water to get to Viktor.

Yuuri released the dog before they got too close, leaving the merman in the shallow water as Makkachin sat himself down beside his master. Viktor didn't think the merman would have much issue getting back to the deep if he truly wanted.

Taking the time to actually get a good look at him now that he was closer, Viktor was truly in awe. His eyes were brown and looked just like any human’s eyes, though Viktor could have sworn they looked like a shark’s before, and from the mop of black hair that stuck to his face sprouted two fins, likely acting as some form of ears for him.

His tail was magnificent as well, it was black and eventually faded to pale skin at his waist, but black scales continued to trail up his back, shoulders and down the backs of his arms. It was far longer than he would have expected, trailing off into the depth of the water until he could no longer see it, Viktor guessed it must be at least five times the length of his torso.

Realizing he had been blatantly staring, Viktor cleared his throat, “I am Viktor Nikiforov, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Yuuri squinted at him, then slowly replied with, “I am Katsuki Yuuri of Hiroko.”

Interesting way to introduce himself, Viktor supposed. He wondered where Hiroko was, perhaps it was the name of some sort of underwater landmark, or civilization.

Did mermaids even have marked civilizations? They, at least Yuuri, seemed intelligent enough to create them.

He glanced back up to Phichit who thankfully no longer seemed ready to blow his brains out. Phichit looked down at him in return and rolled his shoulders back before speaking, “I am Katsuki Phichit of Hiroko.”

Before he could ask why it seemed Phichit and Yuuri shared the same name, the merman pushed himself up with his arms and craned his head back towards the ocean. A small frown graced his features, and with what could only be described as a sigh, pushed himself back into the deeper water.

“Yuuko and Mari are going hunting,” he explained moreso to Phichit than Viktor, “so I have to watch the fry.”

Phichit laughed and waved him off, “I’ll deal with Viktor here, go ahead.”

Yuuri nodded and with one last glance to Viktor, he disappeared with a flash of black.

“Incredible.” Viktor mumbled to himself, the reality slowly actually setting in. A merman, a _real merman._ They actually existed.

A hand grabbed his bicep and yanked him to his feet, almost causing Viktor to fall into the sand, but he was caught before he did. Phichit grunted as he steadied Viktor, and nodded up to his cabin.

“Go on, you need your bandages changed.”

“So you aren't going to kill me, _how kind._ ” Viktor grumbled, a snort came from Phichit in response.

“You aren't a threat to my pod at the moment,” Phichit shrugged, grabbing Viktor’s arm before he fell into the sand, “after all the work Guang-Hong and I did to keep you alive, it’d be stupid to just kill you.”

Viktor glanced down at him with a raised brow, to which Phichit answered, “one of the pod. He helped me make the salves.”

“So there’s more mermen?”

“Merfolk technically, the pod has women and men, but yes.” Phichit replied, watching Viktor carefully as he stepped off the sand and onto the grass.

“And you're all siblings? How are you able to walk on land?”

“Have you _seen_ me and Yuuri? What gave you the impression we were siblings? That, and unless I’ve sprouted fins I can't see, I’m human.”

Viktor wobbled a bit, but Phichit caught him again before he fell. He sighed and righted himself, then explained, “you have the same name though.”

“Katsuki? That's the name of our pod, currently Queened by Hiroko, Yuuri’s mother.”

“...So he is a prince?” Viktor asked, a touch of excitement running through him.

“No, not in the way you’d think of it anyway. He’s just a regular member of the pod, merfolk run things differently than humans do.”

They had finally arrived at the cabin, and Phichit helped Viktor inside and onto the bed. Once he was sitting, Phichit grabbed the salve and some bandages off the table, before returning and crouching down at the bedside.

He carefully pulled away the bandages and applied a fresh coat of salve and bandages. The wounds were healing up nicely. They were still deep and painful, but there was no sign of infection. Once he was finished, Phichit wiped his hands off on his trousers and stood, gathering up the dirty bandages and left the cabin briefly.

Once he returned he gestured for Viktor to lie down, which he reluctantly did. After he was settled, Phichit grabbed an empty jar, “get some sleep”

With that, his host was gone. Viktor stared at the ceiling, slowly letting his drowsiness take over. Though he made sure to leave enough room for his loyal companion to crawl in next to him.

He would seek Yuuri out tomorrow, Viktor decided, there was so much he wanted to know about the merman. 

 


	3. Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor takes a day to learn a bit more about Yuuri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you again for all your support, it really helps keep me motivated!
> 
> Sorry this one took so long to get out, it's 22 pages long though, so I hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy!

Viktor could sleep for years; this was a well-known fact. If left to his own devices, the man would likely fall into a catatonic state and sleep for the rest of his life.

Thankfully, Makkachin or Yuri always woke him up after too long.

A wet tongue pressed against the side of his face did the trick, jolting him awake. He jerked away from the source, and wiped the drool from his cheek with the back of his arm, "Gross."

Makkachin snorted and rested his chin on the bed, his stubby tail wagging hard enough that his entire back half was wagging along with it.

Viktor puffed out a sigh and rubbed the mutt's curly fur, "Yes you're a good boy. Thank you for waking me up."

He glanced out the window, vaguely trying to assess the time based on the sun. It was before noon, but not terribly early. A decent time to be awake, he supposed.

Running his hand through his silver locks, he allowed his foggy mind to come back to him. It didn't take long for him to remember what happened yesterday, _who_ he met yesterday.

His savior, a merman of all things. The very idea of it was just indescribable to him; Viktor had to wonder what other incredible creatures were real if merfolk were.

Speaking of amazing, Viktor lobbed the sheets over his legs and swiveled so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Yuuri and Phichit were probably at the sea cave now; he didn't want to miss them.

Well, miss _Yuuri,_ specifically.

The wood was cold on his bare feet. Viktor wondered what Phichit did with his shirt and boots. Surely they weren't far.

He scanned the room, no clothing that he could see was laying out. Spending the day in the sun was something Viktor was a bit leery of, especially without a shirt, given his complexion. Spending more than an hour or two without protection from the sun was just asking to get burned.

Still, such a thing would not keep Viktor from getting to see Yuuri. He eased himself off the bed, careful not to stand too fast and lose his balance. Vikor was thankful of Makkachin for his support. He pressed a hand between the dog's shoulder blades as he drew in a breath and steadied himself.

While getting better, Viktor was still frustratingly weak. He would not be able to fight anyone in this state, so he supposed it was a good thing Phichit and him would be waiting to set sail until after the storm. Whenever that storm would come.

He padded outside the cabin, bringing up a hand to shield his eyes from the harsh rays. It was terribly bright outside, and it didn't help that the house faced the rising sun either.

Viktor decided he felt confident enough in his balance that he wouldn't fall. He released Makkachin and started the long trek through the grass and down onto the sand. Since it was relatively early, the sand wasn't too hot but was warm enough to be mildly uncomfortable.

To keep from falling, Viktor had to grab onto Makkachin a couple of times. Each time Makkachin would stop and wait for Viktor to right himself before the two continued.

He gave up trying to walk without him and threaded his fingers in Makkachin's fur, carefully moving down to the rocks. Compared to yesterday, Viktor was rather pleased to find he had not fallen once. Though this was mostly thanks to his loyal canine's help.  
  
Picking his way from rock to rock, Viktor finally found himself at the mouth of the sea cave he met his savior in yesterday. Instead of Phichit and Yuuri however, Viktor found it empty.  
  
He padded inside and studied the cave's interior for possible clues to their location.

The cave had little to offer regarding possible places Yuuri and Phichit could be, but it was incredible in its own right. Peeking in from the mouth of the cave did not do the magnitude of the place justice.  
  
He stopped short of stepping on some maps, crouching down to pick them up and study them. They were old, the weathering of the paper made that clear. The paper was thin, more so than what was usually used for map making, in some places even the ink was completely rubbed off.  
  
Though Viktor did concede that they were likely worn from exposure to so much water, though based on the mapping style, this was at least twenty years old. Leo could probably pinpoint the exact location depicted and how long ago it was made just by touching it. The thought made him chuckle.  
  
Makkachin snorted and laid down by the edge of the pool, having little interest in the treasure of the cave.

Viktor set the map to the side and stood, stepping around the other maps that had scattered along the ground. There were a few maps that looked to be recently created. They were near what seemed to be scraps pulled from a wrecked ship. Rope, some small curved planks of wood, what appeared to be pieces of sails, and bits of trim that would go along the top rim of the main deck.

He wondered if the map came from that ship, or if Phichit created it. Viktor recalled he was a fisherman after all.

He returned to the edge of the pool and carefully leaned over, looking in the water for any signs of life. A starfish was sitting on one of the rocks below, but otherwise nothing. He sighed and sat down, crossing his legs as he took the chance for a breather.

Viktor reasoned that if we walked around the island enough, he would be bound to find someone, but to do that Viktor needed to make sure he was rested enough for the trek.

Makkachin barked, pulling Viktor from his plans, and looked to his dog who was currently at the mouth of the cave, running back and forth along the rock there. Viktor eased his legs underneath him and pushed himself up to stand, but before he began to walk, a sound from the pool drew his attention.

He looked down to see none other than his savior, staring at him with black eyes. The merman's brows were raised, likely surprised to see Viktor there. He blinked a few times, eyes narrowing to a more human shape.

"Good morning," Viktor greeted cheerfully. They had barely talked, and he wanted to make a proper good impression this time.

Yuuri rolled his shoulders and looked to Makkachin instead of Viktor himself, "Good morning. It is great to see you're healing well."

"I am, it's all thanks to Phichit and… The other merfolk you mentioned…" Viktor waved his hand in a noncommittal manner, hoping Yuuri would fill in the blank himself.

Ah yes, forget his family's name. The _best_ way to make a first impression.

"Guang-Hong," Yuuri chuckled, raising a brow at Viktor's increasingly reddening cheeks, "He created the salves that kept infection out."

Viktor was thankful Yuuri found it amusing instead of insulting.

He eased himself back down to the cool stone and crossed his legs, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, "Ah right. Of course."

There was a beat of silence between them. Viktor fought to find topics to ask him about. It wasn't that he didn't have any, he just had so much he wasn't sure where to start.

Apparently, Viktor wasn't the only one with questions, as Yuuri beat him to the punch, "for someone with a record of almost drowning as much as you have, you'd think you wouldn't want to be a sailor."

Viktor was in _stitches._ He had a point, when Viktor thought about it, though, most people who had near-death experiences with water hated it, and yet, he was a pirate all the same.

"You have a point there. I'll concede as much." He chuckled, rubbing his chest where the laughter had stirred up some pain.

There was another beat, then Yuuri spoke again, "How much do you remember?"

"Of you saving me this time? Or the other two times?" Viktor inquired, only to grin when the merman sunk into the water in a feeble attempt to hide his blushing cheeks.

"I don't remember too much from the first time mostly just vague colors, the second time I remembered more. I vaguely remembered your face and your scales. This time, I think I remember everything, or at least, mostly everything." Viktor continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "I still have a couple of foggy areas of memory, but I remember enough."

Yuuri rose from the water a bit, no longer hiding his pink cheeks, "I'm surprised you remember that much. Why didn't you tell Phichit from the start?"

"I've kind of told people of you before, or what I could remember. I was written off as crazy, though," Viktor shrugged, "So I stopped mentioning it."

More silence settled between them. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it was vaguely uncomfortable. After all these years searching, Viktor had finally found him. Now that he had, though, Viktor didn't know what to say. What _could_ he say?

"So, uh." Viktor started, "Thank you. For, well, saving my life all those times."

Yuuri's eyes widened a bit, though Viktor didn't know why he would be surprised. It's common courtesy to thank someone.

"You're welcome, though I only got you out of the water," Yuuri mumbled, averting his gaze away from Viktor once more.

"Hey, that's more than I would have expected anyone to do."

"Humans aren't terribly friendly with each other, are they?" Yuuri inquired as he moved to the edge of the pool and rested his arms on the brink of the rock.

"Not at all," Viktor hummed.

Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped before any sound got past his lips. He turned his head to the mouth of the cave and was silent, though the little twitches from the fins on the side of his head gave Viktor the impression that he was listening to something.

If he concentrated, he could hear something very faint, kind of like a shrill whistle. Viktor looked down to Makkachin, who was on his paws now with his ears perked in the same direction Yuuri was facing. He wondered what it was from.

Once it finished, a couple of moments later, Yuuri turned back to face Viktor. He explained, "Phichit is looking for you. It's time to change your bandages probably."

"That was Phichit?" Viktor asked incredulously; he had no idea a human could go that shrill. Or maybe it was a whistle or something.

"No of course not." Yuuri snorted, "That was Guang-Hong signaling for him."

Right, _of course._ Viktor wouldn't have been surprised if it was, though, now that he thought about it.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet, he gave a pained grunt when he finally was upright. His chest was incredibly sore, though having been shot, he supposed being sore was far better than the alternative.

"Well, I guess you know where they are?" He inquired as he glanced down to meet Yuuri's gaze.

Yuuri nodded, "Yeah. I'll take you there. They're at the tidepools."

He disappeared under the water of the pool, and resurfaced a moment later outside of the cave, waiting for Viktor to follow. With a sigh, Viktor made the slow progress out of the cave and onto the sand again.

Makkachin darted in and out of the water. The poor dog was clearly conflicted, much to Viktor's vague amusement. He eventually settled into pace beside Viktor, apparently deciding to help his master, Viktor was glad he was more important than playing with the cute merman in the water.

Viktor couldn't say he'd have a strong enough sense of duty to resist the temptation.

They moved along the shore in silence, for the most part, Yuuri would occasionally make soft whistling sounds, though. Viktor wondered if he was communicating or just entertaining himself. Both seemed pretty plausible if you were to ask him.

"So… Phichit, eh?" Viktor started, grasping at whatever little things they had in common to talk about.

Yuuri tilted his head, "What about him?"

"He's a member of your pod, but he's human right?"

"Yes, that is true." He acknowledged, though his tone of voice pitched a question.

"How did a human get the honor of being part of the pod?"

Yuuri stared at him for a moment, then moved his eyes to look ahead of him. There was a beat of silence, and Viktor worried he had offended Yuuri, "It wasn't really an honor, it just happened."

Viktor let his silence be used to encourage him to speak more.

"Phichit was a fry when we first met him. Something happened, something bad, like a shipwreck maybe. He and what was left of his family washed up on the island… So the pod helped them. Phichit was just a baby I guess, and Dao didn't like the idea of having him starve…" Yuuri trailed off, "I don't know if I should be telling you this. It's Phichit's story, not mine."

Understandable, Viktor supposed. It would be a lie to say his curiosity was not peaked to the highest degree, though. Instead, he curbed his interest enough to ask something else, "Dao?"

"My grandmother. She is High Queen now, though was Queen at the time." Yuuri explained, his face relaxing now that they were on a different subject.

"There's a difference between Queen and High Queen then?"

"Yes. The Queen is the leader of our pod. The High Queen is the eldest female in the pod. The High Queen names children and acts as counsel to the Queen with the other elders," Yuuri explained, then rolled over to swim on his back.

"So parents don't name their children?"

"No of course not, the name represents who the fry will grow into, only the High Queen could possess that kind of knowledge. Parents are far too young." Yuuri replied, disappearing under the water once more.

Viktor raised a brow to the water where Yuuri once was. Merfolk had strange customs.

He continued walking in the direction they had started in, Makkachin at his side, figuring that the pools were in this direction anyway. His eyes remained mostly on the water, but Yuuri didn't resurface. What was he doing now? Surely he didn't just get bored or something.

It didn't take long for Viktor to reach what he presumed were the tide pools Yuuri had spoken about.

Roughly circular areas had been cut into the rocks where water pooled from the rising tides. The rocks were dark and slick, so the tide has likely just gone down, given many of them hadn't had a chance to be dried by the sun.

Perched at the edge where the rocks met the ocean was Phichit, with some bandages and salves, plus another merfolk that Viktor did not recognize. Red scales glinted off a long tail, though it didn't seem as long or as thick as Yuuri's, and the more human-like half of them was smaller than Phichit in largely every way.

He approached cautiously, swallowing down his apprehension at the new creature, _merman,_ he found himself immediately drawn to large scars that peppered along the side of the merman. Phichit was crouching down and rubbing an ointment on the area, mumbling to him as he did.

Viktor cleared his throat to get their attention, though neither replied right away. Why did people make a habit of ignoring him? Surely his presence wasn't _that_ annoying.

After Phichit had finished, he wiped his hands on his trousers and glanced over his shoulder to Viktor, "nice to see you're still kicking."

"Have been for a few days now." Viktor chided in jest.

Phichit chuckled and gestured for him to sit with a sweep of his arm, "Let's get those bandages changed." He paused for a moment, "Oh, this guy here is Katsuki Guang-Hong of Hiriko."

Viktor sat and bowed his head to the merman, more at ease now that he knew who the merman was, "It is an honor to meet you. Thank you for helping Phichit save my life."

Guang-Hong waved his hands frantically, "Oh no, no problem at all. Really! I was happy to help."

He seemed kind enough, Viktor decided and lifted his head as Phichit scooted over to him and began unwrapping the bandages. He hissed as the ones that pressed flush to the hole in his chest were removed, it still being the most tender of the wounds.

"Looks like you're healing pretty well. It'll probably be awhile before you'll be back to full health, though." Guang-Hong chimed as he wiggled a bit closer to inspect the wounds with Phichit. Viktor vaguely felt like an experiment, not a patient, under the two's gaze.

The ocean stirred, revealing Yuuri holding a jar in one hand and a… child in the other. He had set both the jar and the young one on the rocks before he places two more children down then finally lifted himself up.

"Yuuko wanted me to watch them while she was out with Takeshi." Yuuri quickly explained to Guang-Hong, who had given him a raised brow.

"We wanted to see the human." The purple one chimed in.

"The new one." Clarified the pink one.

"He looks funny. Why is he so pale? Is he sick?" Added the blue one.

Now Viktor felt more like an exhibit on display. He supposed it was a step up from experiment.

Phichit grabbed the jar Yuuri brought and explained, "Humans come in a wide range of colors like merfolk do. So he is not sick."

"Why are you treating him then if he isn't ill?" The purple one asked, her eyes narrowing between the two men.

It seemed Phichit had been expecting that sort of reply and laughed, "He got attacked, so that's why I am treating him."

The three children gave a collective "ooh."

"Axel, Lutz, Loop, please mind your manners." Yuuri gently chided, cutting off whatever questions they had primed next.

The three groaned, but listened to Yuuri, draping themselves over him in exaggerated anguish. Viktor couldn't hold back his snickering at the sight.

Yuuri shot him a look that was almost a glare, but it melted away after a moment, and he smiled instead.

He had a gorgeous smile.

Phichit snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Hey pay attention, will you? I need you to hold this."

Viktor flushed, "R-right of course."

He held the end of the bandage where Phichit told him to as he proceeded to finish wrapping up his chest. Viktor hadn't even noticed him put on the salve. He looked up to Yuuri, who was laughing at whatever Guang-Hong had said.

He noticed one of the children squinting at him, then he quickly realized, all three of them were. Viktor wasn't sure how he should react to them staring at him and offered a slightly forced smile to the trio. Their eyes only narrowed further, and the three began whispering to each other over Yuuri's lap.

Yuuri caught wind of whatever they were saying and scolded them, "You will _not._ "

The three pouted, but did share a look that Viktor had the distinct feeling meant bad news for him.

Phichit tried to hold back his laughter beside him. It didn't work very well, but Viktor at least appreciated the effort.

"They like you." Phichit hummed, jerking his head in the direction of the merfolk, "The fry usually only try pulling pranks on those they enjoy."

"I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad one."

"Bad for you, good for the rest of us. Them plotting against you means we get to sleep easy for a day or two."

Viktor shot him a dull stare, "Thank you for your resounding concern for my wellbeing."

"You'll be okay. The fry know humans are fragile, so they won't do anything that'd hurt you." Phichit assured, placing a hand on Viktor's good shoulder.

"I feel like this is spoken from a place of experience."

The silence from Phichit was all the answer he needed. How wonderful.

It was strange, to be accepted so quickly and so thoroughly by not only total strangers but an entirely different species. Viktor felt guilt eat away at the back of his mind from his initial fear of Guang-Hong and merfolk in general.

Maybe it was because Yuuri had saved him in the past, or that Phichit hadn't killed him, but still. It felt strange to sit on rocks along the ocean and just be comfortable in the presence of what most would think to be monsters.

"Phichit is taking you back to the ports after the storm?" Inquired Guang-Hong, cracking the joints in his fingers.

"Yes." Viktor glanced around Guang-Hong to Yuuri, in hopes of trying and gauge his expression, but it was studiously blank. His lips twitched down a bit, disappointed not to get more of a reaction from the merman, but he seemed too busy not paying attention.

"The storm will supposedly hit early in the day after tomorrow, possibly tomorrow afternoon, I can take you once it passes." Phichit informed Viktor, "Then you can get on with saving your son and crew."

He didn't respond. Instead, he just looked over the ocean. It was midday now; he could feel the sun's heat on his skin.

His crew, his son… They needed him. They were out there; they had to be. Of course Viktor's priority was finding and saving them, but still. There was a part of him- a part he hated for even thinking this- that wished he could stay.

It was disgusting and selfish of him, and he knew he could never go on without his family, but there still was that little whisper in the back of his mind. He felt like the scum of the earth.

Maybe, he could come back. After he rescued his crew and got another boat, he could sail back and introduce everyone to Yuuri, and Phichit too. Yes, Viktor decided, he would save his son and crew, then sail back.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Phichit's narrowing, much like they had yesterday when contemplating whether or not to shoot him. Viktor shifted, uncomfortable under his stare, though after a bit his attention was directed to Yuuri and the children. Viktor let himself breathe a small sigh of relief. He didn't know what he did to spur that sudden hostility, but he was glad that it passed.

Phichit stood and padded around to the other side of Yuuri, plopping down and letting the merchildren swarm him like lotuses. He laughed and brought the three of them into a tight hug, them laughing and squealing in joy.

The children were small and fat, and they reminded him kind of little piglets. In their own way, they were rather cute, that much he could concede. Though Yuri had been a far more adorable child. That could just be parental bias coming through, however.

Guang-Hong chuckled along with Yuuri, both of them apparently found the interactions hilarious. Red scales slid into the water as Guang-Hong gently eased himself back to the ocean. He smiled at the group, "I should probably go find Minami, I haven't seen him since we woke up."

Yuuri nodded, "Tell him I said hi."

Guang-Hong laughed, "If I do that, it'll be the only thing he talks about all day." He shook his head, and looked at Viktor, "I'm glad to see you have recovered so well."

With that, Guang-Hong disappeared into the ocean with a flick of his fin.

With the spot beside Yuuri open, Viktor allowed himself to scooch a bit closer to him.

"Your pod is in danger?" Yuuri asked softly, knowing the children were too preoccupied with Phichit to pay attention to them.

"Yes. Before I was shot and thrown over, I told them to escape from the boat we have under the main deck. I don't know if my family made it out, I need to know if they are alright. My son was with them; I don't like the possibility that he got kidnapped." Viktor bit his lip, working it over until he tasted copper.

"Your… son?"

"Yes, Yuri. That's why I laughed when I found out your name."

Yuuri chuckled, "I never thought a human would share my name." He sobered up quickly, though, "Do you think the people who hurt you would hurt him too?"

It took a couple of moments for Viktor to respond, biting his lip harder, enjoying the sting of pain it brought him. He did eventually reply with, "if they caught him, yes. Worse than me, probably. They'd… they know I'll come for him, and they probably will try and get whatever information out of him they can."

A cold hand rested on his shoulder, careful of the bandages, "He'll be ok. You'll find him, and if needed you'll save him."

Viktor didn't react other than hanging his head. He wanted to be there now, to know his son was safe, or at least alive. That any of his crew was still alive.

Makkachin nosed his hand and whined, which drew a gentle laugh from Yuuri as he removed his hand, "See? Even your land seal knows they'll be ok."

Viktor smiled and gently ran his fingers through the brown fur, he had to think positive. Letting grief swallow him whole wouldn't help him save his family. Still, the worry wasn't let go so effortlessly.

He lifted his head to look at Yuuri and thank him, but before the words got out, he noticed the three merchildren staring at him, each of them smirking like they had heard some rumor from across the pub. Phichit was staring at him too, though his expression was more of dull amusement than anything else.

Quickly he cleared his throat, "I appreciate the kind words."

Yuuri squinted at him in a way that made him feel translucent, then looked over his shoulder and scowled at the four. They all feigned innocence, but Yuuri didn't seem to buy it.

He probably would have scolded them again, but his head-fins (ears?) immediately perked, and he looked to the water. Viktor followed his gaze and saw someone bobbing towards them. As they grew closer, Viktor quickly realized this was a mermaid.

She tilted her head at Viktor and opened her arms up for the three children to jump into, which they eagerly did with various shouts of "Mom!" and "you're back!"

"You're Viktor I take it?" She questioned, pulling the three into her chest, which Viktor made a point not to look at, given she was without clothing.

"Yes, Viktor Nikiforov, at your service." He preened, knowing the better impressions he made on Yuuri's family, the better of an impression he would make on Yuuri himself. It was evident the merman valued his pod above all else.

She laughed, "Charming. Who is he trying to impress, Yuuri?"

Yuuri bristled with a blush next to him. Viktor was tempted to comment on how when he blushed his whole body turned pink but decided against it.

The mermaid snorted, failing to suppress more laughter, "adorable." She turned to Viktor, "I am Katsuki Yuuko mated of Takeshi."

Viktor offered a warm smile, trying his best not to let it falter too much when he heard the children whispering amongst themselves again. Yuuko chuckled, apparently, she found what they were gossiping about funny. He hoped it was not a plan of his demise.

"I should get them back home, thank you for watching them boys." She chimed, and added in an aside to Yuuri; "Oh, your sister wants you. You have to rehearse for the ceremony don't forget."

Yuuri nodded, "I know."

"Well, I'll be off then. Say goodbye to everyone, girls."

"Bye Yuuri, bye Phichit, bye Viktor" The triplets rehearsed, their dull tone giving away their emotions.

Yuuko rolled her brown eyes, gave a small smile and disappeared with her children in tow.

Viktor's attention snapped to Yuuri immediately. He flinched and rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tingling sensation he got from the movement and inquired, "Ceremony?"

"My sister will become the next Queen soon, and since she has no mate, I'll be the one who transfers the necklace to Mari," Yuuri explained with a terse voice.

"Every time a new queen gets inaugurated, there is a ceremonial passing of an heirloom that belonged to the first Queen of the pod." Phichit clarified. "Usually their mate would do the passing, but since Mari doesn't have one, it goes to Yuuri."

It didn't sound too different from passing the crown to the next of blood after a king dies, Viktor supposed. Still strange, but he figured if it was important to Yuuri, it would be important to him too. Though Yuuri didn't look pleased about it, so Viktor wasn't sure how to feel.

Yuuri rocked himself forward and slid gracefully into the water again, resurfacing after a moment. He turned to regard the humans on the rock and gave a weak smile, "I should go before Mari drags me down herself."

Viktor resisted the urge to pout, "See you again soon?"

He pinkened and turned away, "Maybe, sure."

"Ugh." Phichit groaned, "Talk to you later Yuuri."

Yuuri nodded and sunk under water immediately, this time not resurfacing.

Viktor didn't try to hide his smile, that went well. He liked to think he was making an excellent impression on the merman. He couldn't wait to have his crew meet Yuuri; they'd love him. Well, most of them would, Yuri would probably hate him. Though Yuri hated almost everyone at first, it was practically a tradition.

"You can't come back, you know."

Viktor looked behind him to see Phichit gathering up the supplies he used to treat himself and Guang-Hong. The man met his eyes for a moment, then returned his focus back to gathering everything up again.

"Why not?" Viktor demanded, "I'm not going to lead hunters here or anything, I genuinely like Yuuri you know."

Phichit gave him a cold stare, "No but you will bring Navy and probably other pirates."

"I said I don't wish him any harm, why would I do that?"

"It might not be on purpose, but it would happen." Phichit huffed, "You're a wanted criminal, you have the highest bid of any man on your head. It'll only increase if you manage to break your crew out of prison. If they even _are_ in jail."

Viktor could feel his lips twitch down, he hadn't been caught before. How was Phichit so sure he'd lead others to this island? He said himself that people didn't sail here.

"They'll hunt you down, or try. If someone follows you and you don't notice, then what? Are you willing to risk Yuuri's and the rest of the pod's lives on your ability to outsail Military?"

Viktor didn't respond and instead glanced down at his crossed legs.

"You saw Guang-Hong, right? The scars on the side of his tail? He used to have a fin there." Viktor could feel Phichit's eyes on him, "He can't swim right because of it, can't even swim in a straight line. Imagine how easy it'd be to catch him."

Viktor let out a heavy breath. Bringing a hand up to his necklace, he grabbed and gazed down at the faded engraving it bore, "I… see."

Silence spanned between them. The air was thick, almost suffocating. Viktor felt ill.

After all this time, he finds what he had been searching for 15 years but now can never return. It was infuriating. If he had to choose, he would, _of course,_ choose Yuri and his crew. However being forbidden from returning struck deep.

Maybe it hurt so much because he knew Phichit was right. He was a wanted man, most pirates were. If he came back straight after getting his family back together, there would be someone trying to tail them, cursed waters be damned.

Viktor peered over his shoulder when he heard a rustling from Phichit. The man had stood to his knees, with supplies in his arms. He gazed back at Viktor for a moment, then began to pick his way down to the sand.

"Since you're doing alright on your own, I'm going to head up to the cabin and start packing for the storm. You can do whatever you want, though I'll be making food at sunset, so if you want to eat, come back then." Phichit stated when he was back on the sand. He turned away from Viktor and walked in the direction of the humble abode.

Viktor watched him go for a while, then turned his gaze back to the ocean. He drew his knees up to his chest and gazed out over the endless blue. Somewhere out there his son and crew were probably looking for him too. Provided they even escaped that damn Navy.

His fingernails bit into the palms of his fists, if anyone harmed a hair on his son there would be hell to pay, he'd make sure of it.

A cold nose pressed against his balled up fist. Viktor drew in a calming breath and let it out, then began to run his hand through the coarse fur. Makkachin snorted and rolled onto his back, pressing his side against Viktor's hip. He laughed and turned to rub his belly with both hands, cooing and praising the mutt for being such a good boy.

Makkachin sprawled out and laid limp, tongue hanging out of the corner of his floppy muzzle. After another moment, Viktor slowed his vigorous petting in favor of offering lazy scratches while his eyes once more were drawn to the sea.

Even when he was a boy, the ocean fascinated him. He would often spend hours just watching it from his window growing up, his fascination only doubling the first time Yuuri had rescued him. Not to mention the second time.

He remembered when he first met Yuri, a dirty and angry orphan, lashing out at anyone who dared to come near. He _bit_ Viktor the first time they met. The memories brought out a fond chuckle from Viktor. He had only been seventeen when he had first met Yuri. He managed to scrounge enough tips and money from tending the Pink Pearl to pay the adoption fee when he had turned eighteen.

That boy hated water. Viktor still to this day doesn't fully know why, but he can barely stand sitting in a wash bucket, much less the actual sea. Why he doesn't seem to mind the boat itself is beyond him, but Yuri always was a strange little one.

Viktor suppressed a yawn and rested his cheek on his knees. He could stand to close his eyes for a bit he supposed. He had walked a lot today and frankly was too sore to bother getting up, so he figured he could rest here for a bit then head back up to the cabin.

 

* * *

 

 

Cold washed over Viktor like a wave. He coughed and sputtered awake, sitting up and rubbing his face free of the salty water.

He blinked away the drops around his eyes and glanced around to find the source of the sudden wash of water. His gaze settled on blue lights and red eyes.

His shriek was wholly undignified, but in Viktor's defense, he was still half asleep and glowing red eyes tended to freak anyone out.

"S-sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, sorry!" Yuuri pleaded, his voice rising with each word until it was a frantic shrill of an apology.

Viktor waved the merman off, "It's fine, it's fine. Just startled me."

He drew a hand down his face, giving him a chance to wake up and get reacquainted with living. It was dark, very dark. His eyes trailed up to the sky, there were a lot of clouds so he couldn't see the stars, but it was certainly night.

"Phichit said you fell asleep out here." Yuuri explained, "He didn't want to wake you."

Viktor shrugged off the thin blanket that the man must have provided. Guess Phichit didn't hate his very existence as much as he thought.

"I see. Thank you, Yuuri."

Yuuri nodded and pushed himself out of the water to sit next to Viktor. Well, near Viktor, there was a good distance between them. Viktor wondered if he smelled bad, he didn't think he had bathed since the shipwreck.

Viktor watched Yuuri curiously. The merman had to do a lot to get himself comfortable on the rocks. More so than he would have thought at least. He couldn't sit up as straight as Viktor could, so he leaned back a touch with one hand pressed against the flat of the rock to keep himself upright. His tail didn't seem terribly flexible either, so instead of bending off the edge like a leg would, it sort of just curved down in a gentle slope.

It was hard to see the tail, though, given the dark of night. In fact, the only reason he could even see the tail decently at all was because of the glowing lights that lined the sides of his tail.

It was fascinating; he had never seen something glow the way Yuuri did before. The blue markings that lined each side of his tail trailed all the way down into the water, even slowly fading away as the merman's tail drifted deeper into the black of the sea.

He glanced back up at Yuuri himself, who was staring at him with red eyes. Or, sort of red eyes. Every time he turned his head, even if just a touch, his eyes would reflect red. It reminded him of seeing a cat's eyes in the alleyways at night.

"How do you do that?" Viktor needed to know. His curiosity would not be sated otherwise.

Yuuri tilted his head, "Do… what?"

Viktor waved his hand to the tail, "Glow. How do you do that?"

He regarded him for a moment, apparently confused by Viktor's question, though after following his line of sight to his tail, he let out a soft ‘oh.'

"It's just something we do. All, well nearly all, merfolk have this." He explained, spreading a hand on over the lights, the thin webbing between his fingers catching and refracting the light. "It's the color of our soul, or that's what the story is anyway."

"Really?"

Yuuri nodded, "there are lots of different colors our souls can be, each is foretelling of who we are. Like Yuuko's soul is red, so she is passionate, headstrong, and a natural protector. Phichit's soul is yellow, he is warm, joyful, and has incredibly keen instincts."

"Phichit is human, though, right?" Viktor inquired.

"Well, yes. But he is still part of the pod, so my mother bestowed him the color of his soul when he was of age."

"What about you?"

Yuuri looked back up to Viktor, "me?"

"Yeah, what does your color mean?"

Yuuri averted his gaze back down, "It supposedly means that I'm wise, gentle, and a natural leader."

Viktor leaned back on his hands, "You don't sound terribly convinced."

"Am I that transparent?" Yuuri chuckled dryly.

It was strange to Viktor, looking at Yuuri now. The way his slightly damp hair fell over his face, the gentle curves of his body, the way he just _glowed_ was incredible. Disregarding the literally glowing tail, Yuuri had this sort of feel to him, his own kind of beat that drew Viktor in like a fish on a hook.

"Surely you don't have _that_ little of an opinion of yourself?" Viktor prodded, testing the waters.

Yuuri shot him a dull stare, though didn't respond.

"I'm sure you'll grow into it." He assured offhandedly. Of course, as far as Viktor was concerned he was the pure representation gentle and wise. Though he couldn't just say that, people hated it when you complimented them like that outright, makes the words feel empty and hollow.

The merman didn't respond and just shrugged his shoulders, then turned to watch the ocean with an unreadable gaze.

"My son hates the sea," Viktor didn't know why he suddenly started talking, but now that he started, he wasn't sure if he could stop. "He hates water in general, and everything to do with it. He's been like that as long as I've known him. Sometimes, I catch him with his arms on the rail of my ship just staring at the sea. Yuri doesn't like a lot of people, he's hard to get along with, but I think… I think he'd like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, though he'd probably pretend to hate you. You know, to keep up appearances." Viktor chuckled.

Yuuri looked over the water, a small smile dancing on his lips, "Is his mother like that too?"

Viktor shrugged.

"Does he _have_ a mother?"

"Somewhere, maybe. I adopted him, so I don't know anything about her, or if she is even alive. Yuri gets upset if I bring up either of his birth parents." Viktor rested his hands on his thighs, "They're probably dead. I've always kind of figured that his fear of water was linked to them. Might have died when a ship sunk or something."

"I'm sure _your_ mother could relate to him, you almost died in a shipwreck or two in your life." Yuuri chuckled, his laughter soft and warm. When Viktor didn't look up to meet his eyes, the laughter died down and was replaced with an air of concern.

"My mother died in that shipwreck you first saved me from." Viktor whispered, "So did my father."

Yuuri gasped and opened his mouth to apologize, but Viktor held up a hand and cut him off before he had the chance, "no, it was ages ago. It doesn't bother me that much anymore."

Viktor looked up at the sky, stars shielded from his gaze by the thick clouds, "Kind of why I adopted Yuri. Despite being an orphan my… history, still let me live comfortably. Yuri didn't get that privilege, so I worked with what little I had at the time so he could at least grow up in a better environment that whatever rat hole he lived inside of in the orphanage."

"You love him very much," Yuuri noted, his tone soft.

"Of course I do. Yuri may not be of my loins, but I treat him as if he were. It took him _six years_ to even call me dad, and I remember I actually started crying when he did. It was an off-handed remark too, but I was so happy I just, started crying." Viktor laughed, "Pretty stupid, eh?"

Yuuri chuckled and shook his head, "Not at all."

Viktor smiled at Yuuri. He was far past the point of infatuation at this stage but he didn't care. Until, that is, he realized his days here were very limited, and he would likely not see Yuuri ever again after all this. Viktor flinched and turned his head away, looking over the sea instead.

He could see Yuuri tilt his head out of the corner of his eye, "Are you alright?"

"I leave after the storm, and I can't return," Viktor mumbled, drawing his knees up and resting a hand on Makkachin's sleeping form.

Yuuri was silent for a beat, then inquired, "You're really that wanted?"

"Yes."

Silence spanned between them again, and Viktor wished he could think of something to say, but he just couldn't. What _was_ there to say?

"The storm will hit tomorrow afternoon. It's moving faster than we initially thought," Yuuri whispered, "You'll be leaving when it passes then."

Viktor rested his chin between his knees, "Guess so."

"Hey, don't mope." Yuuri gently chided, "Maybe I'll save you again from a burning ship. You seem to have a knack for getting yourself into trouble on them."

Viktor laughed, it felt good. He probably laughed harder than he should have at that, but maybe it was more of the release of tangled up emotions he felt than anything else. After he finally calmed down, he wiped his eyes, "I guess you're right."

"You should probably get some rest." Yuuri hummed, "Phichit'll have you up early to move to higher ground."

Viktor didn't want to leave, he was comfortable where he was. The gentle atmosphere between them, the soft glow from Yuuri's tail, and the warmth of Makkachin pressed at his side, it felt like he was where he should be. Yuri was missing, but if he had Yuri between them, Viktor felt like he would feel complete.

Still, he knew the merman was right. So he pushed himself shakily to his feet, waking up his dog as he did so. He stretched and rubbed his chest, pain blossoming through it, "I'll… see you later then."

Yuuri chuckled, "Yeah."

Viktor watched Yuuri slide into the water and disappear, a soft smile gracing his lips. It felt like he had known Yuuri his whole life, and in a strange way, he practically did. Yet, Yuuri viewed him as a mere stranger. It stung, but Viktor didn't mind. He was happy to talk to him, bask in his gentle warmth.

He yawned and used Makkachin as support while he hobbled back up to the cabin.

 

* * *

 

 

The storm hadn't even started yet, and the wind was causing the shanty to groan.

Phichit had one arm around his stomach, forcing the taller man to lean down for support as they trekked through the trees. Their hair whipped against their faces, and with a glance over his shoulder, he could see the ocean was feeling the strength of the storm as well.

He tightened the arm around Phichit's shoulders when a strong gust nearly knocked them over. They trudged forward, each step was like walking on fire for Viktor, and with the sweat he could feel through Phichit's shirt, he knew his host wasn't faring much better.

They kept climbing the hill until they reached a small opening carved into the side. He looked down to Phichit as he released Viktor and nudged him and Makkachin inside.

Viktor stumbled in but caught himself on Makkachin's back. He groaned and steadied himself on his feet, glad to be out of the wind. A fire was set up with a large pile of wood next to it, and there were two piles of blankets on the cave floor, which Viktor presumed would be where they slept tonight, and possibly tomorrow night if the weather kept up.

He shuffled over to the nearest one and eased himself down, glad to be sitting after all that.

Phichit remained by the entrance for a moment, looking outside, then walked in fully. He settled himself down in his own makeshift bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Dao says this storm will be a big one. So we may be here for another day or two."

Viktor pulled the blanket around his shoulders, "We'll be safe here then?"

"Yes, safest place on the island. The only reason I don't actually live in here is because the treck to the beach is too long to justify every day."

Viktor hummed, "Understandable."

They spent the rest of the day in relative silence. Viktor was dozing in and out of conciseness. He figured his body was just making up for him doing all that movement yesterday since he was still frustratingly weak. His strength was returning, Viktor could feel it, but the process was slow.

Viktor shifted a bit, adjusting the placement of his head, so Makkachin's shoulder wasn't digging into him as much. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the fire was low. He rolled over to see Phichit sleeping, snoring faintly across the embers. Viktor really needed to thank Phichit for what he has done.

A shrill sound snapped his attention immediately away from Phichit and to the cave mouth. Makkachin scrambled to his paws, leaving Viktor's head to hit the stone floor.

Viktor yelped and clutched the back of his head, watching Makkachin run to the mouth of the cave and bark into the storm. He paced back and forth, his barking becoming more and more desperate.

The commotion stirred Phichit from his sleep. He cursed and stumbled to his feet, looking around the cave frantically as he regained his bearings. After a moment, he scowled at Makkachin, then at Viktor, "What's _his_ problem?"

Viktor pushed himself up and whistled for Makkachin, the dog stopped barking and looked over his shoulder at him, then whined and began scratching the stone near the cave mouth. That wasn't like Makkachin; something was wrong. He stood to his feet and ambled over to Makkachin, pressing a hand to his head. He pulled back when he realized Makkachin's whole body was trembling.

"He's scared I think." Viktor rubbed the dog's back in a soothing fashion, but it didn't seem to calm him down at all.

Then the noise happened again. It was sort of like a scream. It was shrill, and it sounded scared, or desperate. Makkachin began barking again at this and if Viktor didn't have a hold of him, he would have run out of the cave.

That didn't stop Phichit from darting out, though, "Yuuri!"

This sparked Viktor's attention immediately. He let go of Makkachin and braved the violent winds and pelting rain, "What's wrong!?"

"That was Yuuri's call! Something is wrong!" Phichit shouted back, using his arm to shield what he could of his face.

Viktor had enough troubles standing as it was, trying to follow after Phichit was nearly impossible. Yuuri was in trouble, though, and if that was the case, Phichit might need all the help he could get. He grabbed Makkachin's fur and forced himself forward.

Each step burned his body, his skin felt like he was being cut, partly from sunburn, and partly from the sheer strength of the rain. Water soaked every part of him and made Makkachin's fur slick and hard to grab.

Pain seared through him as he slipped, falling onto his back with a cry. He had to take a couple of deep breaths, which with the water was incredibly difficult and pushed himself up again. This time he was assisted by a pair of hands.

"Stupid." Phichit scolded, but there was a distinct lack of menace to his voice.

Phichit tucked Viktor's arm around his shoulders, and helped him steady himself in the gusts and rolling thunder. He took a step forward, waited until Viktor did the same and then the two began to make their way down to the beach.

Makkachin ran ahead of them, which Viktor was glad for. He would be able to protect and calm Yuuri, just like he did for his son.

Viktor fell to his knees the moment they reached the beach Yuuri called them to.

It couldn't be.

The smell of iron swelled through his senses, looking at the red sand in terror. There, in the middle of the blood laid Leo and JJ.

He scrambled to them, checking their vitals, swallowing down nausea at the smell. They were alive, _they both were alive!_

"They… They're alive." Viktor whispered, lightning briefly illuminating their unconscious bodies.

Yuuri nodded desperately, "I-I don't know what happened. I just found them, they, they were calling for you Viktor, s-so I thought they were part of your crew." His arms moved frantically as he talked, "I tried calling to you, b-but when I came back th-they were unconscious!"

Phichit crouched down next to them and pulled off their jackets and shirts, "We need to get them back to the cave. They're too heavy with their boots and stuff on." He pulled off JJ's boots as well and grabbed him, pushing himself to his feet.

Viktor didn't know how, but he would have to do the same. Thunder crashed overhead, and he knew their time was limited. He grabbed Leo's arm and used Makkachin to help himself up, throwing the man's arm around his shoulder to support himself.

He reached around and tried to grab Leo's other arm, but couldn't grab it. Viktor leaned forward to see where the arm was tucked away, only to see a sight that left Viktor in a state of shock.

Leo didn't have his right arm anymore.

That's where all the blood was from, Leo's missing arm. _Oh god._

He swallowed thickly, now wasn't the time to get sick. Leo needed immediate medical attention if he was going to live. Viktor prayed to whatever god or higher being was out there to please, please, let Leo live.

Yuuri was gone when he glanced back over his shoulder, probably back to some shelter. Good.

If he thought walking before was hard, this was walking in hellfire. Each step, each movement sent white-hot pain through his body. If he stopped, Leo would die. He knew this, and he couldn't let him pass on now. Leo deserved better.

He didn't even make it halfway up when Phichit came sprinting down. He stared at Leo briefly, eyes wide, then took Viktor's place and trekked up the mountain. Shame crept through his mind. He was their _Captain._ He should have been able to protect them.

Viktor shoved it down; this wasn't about him. It was about Leo and JJ getting them help they needed. He managed the rest of the way up on his own.

When he and Makkachin slipped through the mouth of the cave, he was glad to see Phichit was already at work saving their lives. Gratitude washed over him. He needed to find a way to repay him.

Phichit swallowed thickly and glanced up to Viktor, crouching beside Leo, "I… I should tell you this now."

Viktor froze, his hand seeking out Makkachin for support. The dog pressed his head against the open hand, sensing his master's terror.

"I don't think… I don't think they'll make it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, you thought this would be just fluff?
> 
>  
> 
> In case anyone is curious, Yuuri's bioluminescent pattern is based off of the Black Dragonfish.  
> ((They're pretty creepy little guys though, so if you don't like deep sea fish don't look it up))


	4. Some Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to look up for JJ and Leo's recovery.
> 
>  
> 
> **Note: This chapter does contain some graphic imagery of treating a severed limb in the 1700's. It isn't pretty.  
> Also don't do this, they had no idea what they were doing back then.

"I don't think… I don't think they'll make it."

With just those words, Viktor’s world spun violently. His mind became a jumbled mess of confusion and fear, _they’ll be fine - they have to be._

Throughout the years they sailed the seas together, nobody on his crew ever died. They were untouchable, the Golden Cutlass and her crew, immortal for all practical purposes. The very notion of either of them dying was not something Viktor was willing to entertain.

Phichit grabbed Leo’s bloodied arm and wrapped it tightly with some bandages, likely to try and apply pressure to stop the river of red trailing from his arm, or, what was left of it. He glanced up to Viktor, and sternly told him, “Help me get their trousers off.”

Viktor stared at him incredulously, but complied nonetheless. At this point, it was clear Phichit had a better grasp of the situation than Viktor did, so he just decided to do what he was told for now. He quickly slid Leo’s pants down and off, setting the soaked garments to the side. When they were off, Phichit wrapped Leo up tightly in the blanket.

“With how wet they are, there is a dangerously high chance they could have hypothermia.” Phichit explained somberly. “If that's the case keeping the wet clothes on them will make it harder for them to dry and get warm.”

Viktor nodded and padded to JJ, where he did the same thing and wrapped the man up like Phichit had done for Leo. Once he was tucked in, Viktor gently nudged him a bit closer to the fire, praying the warmth would save him.

He looked through the dancing flames to Phichit, who was holding up Leo’s arm again, the bandages were already dotted with red. Viktor was no doctor, but even he could tell that there was a lot of blood being lost. Viktor didn't think Leo would have much more blood to spare.

Phichit was clearly concerned as well, “Viktor, come here. I need you to hold his arm up for me.”

Viktor did as requested and kneeled next to Leo’s head, holding up the bloody stub as Phichit got up and headed to a supply pile he had brought from Viktor’s wounds. Though now it would be far more of use to Leo.

Phichit grabbed bandages and salve, setting them down beside Viktor with a strange resolve. He had seen Phichit serious of course, but there was something off about his expression. The way his brows furrowed ever so slightly, the way he worked his lower lip between his teeth and the hard set of his eyes, it seemed like he was bracing himself.

Viktor adjusted his hold on the stub, careful not to touch anywhere near the wound, which since it was cut off at his elbow, wasn't too difficult.

Phichit drew in a breath and let it out, pulling his knife from his pants. He sat down in front of the stub and held it steady with one hand while Viktor kept it up.

“I have to examine the wound for debris.” Phichit explained and he peered into the mangled mess of flesh, bone, and blood. “It's not a clean cut, so it wasn't done professionally, likely done out of necessity than anything else. Which means there is probably debris in there that will cause infection.”

Viktor swallowed back his bile and nodded. He watched as Phichit took the knife and used it to work into the open wound, blood meeting every movement. It smelled terrible, almost as bad as it sounded.

The sound was indescribable, like squishing a soaked rag in one’s fist, or pulling out a fish's guts after slicing it’s belly. It was a wet sloppy sound regardless, and it made Viktor’s stomach shrivel.

Viktor was not a squeamish man, in his lifetime he had seen many a wound, blood and plenty of death. He was a pirate, it was part of the job description.

Yet watching Phichit pull a splinter of what might be wood from Leo’s bloodied flesh definitely gave him some perspective. He had to look away, lest he vomit all over Phichit and Leo. The last thing Leo’s arm needed was to be drenched in his puke.

It still didn't block out the sounds.

Viktor had to take a steadying breath and try to think of something else. _Anything else._

What was Yuuri doing now? The storm was still raging outside, wouldn't the water’s be dangerous for him? Though this area sure was no stranger to violent storms, and the fact his pod still remained meant they must have somewhere safe to go. Perhaps storms did not affect water deep below the surface, Viktor didn't know.

“There. I think that's all of them.” Phichit’s voice was higher than usual, strained. Viktor did not envy Phichit’s position.

Viktor looked back to see a small pile of wood splinters that were dug out of Leo’s arm. What had happened to him?

“Now we need to cauterize it.”

Viktor felt his stomach lurch, it look all of his strength not to lose his last meal everywhere.

Phichit wiped off the blood and stuck the blade into the fire, watching it slowly begin to heat. “It's going to smell bad.” He warned.

“Is this a good idea?” Viktor cautiously asked.

“Unless you want him bleeding out everywhere, yes.”

Viktor swallowed and nodded, adjusting his grip on the remainder of Leo’s arm.

Phichit waited until the blade glowed and pulled the knife out with a steadying breath. He mumbled something under his breath and pressed the flat of the glowing blade to the end of the stub.

The smell was putrid. It was like burning leather, but sweeter and more like charcoal, and yet held the distinct smell of a smithery or coins. Viktor never had smelled burning flesh before, though he knew it was not a scent that would ever be forgotten, no matter how much he would try.

Phichit pulled the blade back from the blistering stub and flipped it over, pressing the other side of the blade against the flesh, the smell springing forth again renewed. It sizzled like fish in a hot pan, a sound Viktor would never be able to associate with food again.

The blade was stuck into the fire again, and once more applied when the metal glowed.

The process took a few minutes, but time crawled by so slowly, Viktor was sure they had spent an eternity burning Leo.

Finally, it was over. The scent hung fresh and putrid in the air of the cave, seeping into everything. Phichit grabbed the arm fully from Viktor and looked it over while Viktor stumbled to his feet. He wobbled to the entrance and proceeded to violently vomit outside of the cave.

His stomach spasmed and lurched, clearly as disturbed by what just occurred as he was.

When he had emptied the entirety of his gut onto the grass outside, he took a moment to just stand there. The cave blocked most of the wind and rain, but at the mouth just enough got in for Viktor to be able to stand there and enjoy the cool mist on his sweaty skin. Roaring thunder spurred Viktor to get back into the cave, even if the stench still hung thick in the air.

He swiftly wiped his mouth and returned to Leo’s side, where Phichit was laying out the bandages he would wrap the wound in.

“Can you hold his arm again?” Phichit uncapped the jar of salve and took a dollop of it and spread it over the bandages he had laid out.

“Yeah, sorry.”

Phichit waved him off and once Viktor held the arm he began wrapping it in the gooey bandages. He then applied a second layer of dry bandages to help seal in the medicine.

“There.” Phichit leaned back on his heels, looking worse for ware. Not that Viktor could blame him, he had a better stomach than he did. “We won't have enough bandages to redress your wound.” He added.

Viktor shook his head, “Leo is the higher priority, I’ll be fine.”

With a nod, his host got up and headed to the mouth of the cave, probably to get some fresh air himself. Viktor rubbed his nose, the smell still hung in the air, and probably wouldn't leave for a long time. Still, if it meant that Leo would live, Viktor could deal with some nasty smells.

He pushed Leo’s sweaty bangs out of his face and pulled the blanket back over him, taking care to tuck it around what was left of his arm, he didn't want the first thing Leo to see when waking up to be his severed limb.

Phichit returned, his color less pale than it had been moments ago. “We will have to take turns checking their vitals through the night.”

“Alright, you go ahead and get some rest then. You need it.” Viktor offered, he wouldn't be able to get some sleep now anyway. Far too wired for it.

Phichit seemed to understand and nodded, heading back to a corner of the cave and settling himself down to sleep. It didn't take him long to do so, and Viktor himself prepared for a long night ahead of him.

It went as expected, thankfully. No problems occurred during the night, he eventually woke Phichit up and took his place in the corner when being awake was too much for him.

Viktor wasn't sure how long it had been when Phichit nudged him awake again, “Come on, we need to change your friend’s badges.”

“Leo.”

Phichit shot him an inquisitive glance.

“Leo, that's his name. The one with black hair is JJ.”

“Ah, I see.” Phichit squatted down next to the hispanic man, “Well, we need to change Leo’s bandages then.”

Viktor got up and held Leo’s arm as he did hours ago, and wrinkled his nose when the bandages were taken off. It smelled absolutely vile. Though the whole cave smelled vile, so Viktor wasn't sure why he had expected anything different.

Phichit made quick work of it, though had to pause and cover his nose for a moment before he dived back in and wrapped him up.

The rest of the day went by in a haze for Vikor.

His time spent awake was sitting next to Leo or JJ, a hand clutching theirs, fingers resting on their pulse, scared if he took his hand away for a minute their heart would stop beating. He couldn't eat, the mere thought of food made him terribly nauseous, and after puking last night, he didn't feel like repeating that situation again.

Of course Phichit had none of that and all but shoved fish down his throat when he tried to refuse it. He kept everything down, so he supposed it was for the better.

The storm slowly began to wane, it was still enough to hear the trees ache under the wind gusts, but no longer that that same savageness it had before. They'd probably be able to go back to the cabin tomorrow.

Fingers twitched against his palm, jerking Viktor’s attention away from the cave mouth.

JJ’s face scrunched, and to Viktor’s delight, his eyes actually opened. They were glazed and and unfocused, but they gained at least some clarity when after glancing around landed on him. Viktor knew he was beaming.

“W-water?” JJ pleaded, his voice rough and cracked.

Before Viktor even let go of JJ, Phichit was kneeling down and offering a flask to JJ’s cracked lips, “Here.”

JJ shifted and grabbed the flask, immediately starting to inhale the water inside. Phichit snatched the flask back from him, “Stop that! If you drink too much you’ll vomit, you don't need to be even more dehydrated than you are now.”

He made a weak attempt to take the flask back, which a wholly unamused Phichit easily kept away. “Oh come on, I haven't had _actual_ water in days.”

Phichit held firm.

“JJ what happened?” Viktor gently nudged him back down, not wanting the moron to get himself hurt any more than he might already be.

The man grunted, but did lay back down, glaring a bit at Phichit who promised water once he finished speaking.

“I… I don't remember much. I don't think.” JJ ran his free hand through his black sweaty hair, “Y-You're alive though! When we got out, we heard the gunshots--and the ship exploded. We thought you were dead.”

Viktor nodded, “takes more than some bullets and explosions to kill me.”

JJ laughed weakly and continued, “The ships, once the Golden Cutlass was destroyed, came and fished our boat out of the water.” He swallowed thickly. “They pulled us out of the rescue boat, well, except me ‘n Leo. We were going to be, but Yuri went at the guy who was holding the crank and attacked him… Don't know what he did, but we were dropped into the water then.”

“They just kind of left us. Guess we weren't important enough to bother with. Leo hurt his arm on the fall though, dislocated his elbow or something. We tried to fix it, but might have just made it worse.” Phichit took pity on JJ and let him have a few sips of water.

“We… Were in the ocean for a long time. I don't know how long, but it was a while. The waves started picking up after a few days and we were pushed to this island just as clouds started to move in. We managed to paddle to shore in the boat. I got out and started looking around, hoping to find someone. The storm kicked up then.”

JJ shut his eyes and furrowed his brow. “I remember finding your coat and boots. We started shouting for you, a-and something happened to the boat there was a crashing sound I think? Leo started screaming. Everything is too fuzzy now, I don't--I’m sorry.”

Viktor’s worst fears were confirmed, his son and crew were taken. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and shook his head, “Don't be, you’ve told me plenty.”

“How is he? Is his arm ok?”

Viktor didn't respond, he couldn't. Instead he stood and padded to the mouth of the cave, breathing in the fresh air. The cave still smelled vile, it was nice to have a brief break from it. He turned to go back to JJ, who whined when Phichit pulled the flask away from him again.

“Is Leo alright?” JJ scratched out, his throat likely hurt a lot. Viktor looked down to Leo, who was still unconscious for now. He hadn't woken up since he had been brought here. Viktor could only pray that he would be alright.

When Phichit didn't jump in to explain, Viktor took it upon himself and responded. “I don't know. He lost his arm, the one that was dislocated probably. Leo hasn't woken up yet, but he’s alive.”

When he didn't hear any reply, Viktor looked up from Leo to JJ, who was still laying down, but his head was turned towards Leo. His thick brows furrowed, then he turned his head away. Viktor didn't blame him.

Silence filled the cave once more, Viktor was tempted to try and pick out more information from JJ, but since the man had since drifted back off to sleep, he couldn't find it in himself to wake him. JJ needed the rest.

 

* * *

 

Evening fell upon them faster than Viktor expected. The weather outside has calmed significantly. Now just the steady patter of rain on stone could be heard. It was soothing.

Viktor ran his fingers through the fur on Makkachin’s head, worry consumed every waking thought. His heart ached, and any time he tried to think of something else, paralyzing fear for his family would rear it's ugly head.

They had been captured.

_They had been captured._

“We can head back down to what’s left of the cabin tomorrow morning.”

Viktor looked up to Phichit when he spoke. The man continued, “we don't want to move them too soon. Plus I don't like leaving until I am sure the storm has passed.”

The captain nodded and rested the back of his head against the cool rock, closing his eyes.

He thought of Yuuri, the way his cheeks puffed out when he smiled. The warmth he radiated just sitting near Viktor, the cold hand on his shoulder, the solemn look on his face as a hand spread out over his tail.

Perhaps in another time, he would be able to stay with Yuuri. As much as he longed to remain on the island, and just spend his days laughing on the shoreline, Viktor had more important things he needed to do. His son needed him, his crew needed him. They were his everything, and he’d be _damned_ if he were to let them fall.

 

* * *

 

Morning came sooner than Viktor would have liked. He raised his arms in a stretch and rocked himself to an upright position. Makkachin still snored beside him, and Phichit seemed to still be asleep as well, judging by his form curled up against the far end of the cave wall.

With a grunt, Viktor pushed himself to his feet. He thought about looking outside to scope out the damage, given the sun was actually out now.

“Morning, Captain.”

Viktor jumped and whipped around, there Leo was, awake and actually aware. He rushed to his side immediately, “Are you ok?”

Leo smiled weakly, “I’m alright. Haven't moved yet but… I can't feel my arm.”

There was a silence that spanned between them for a beat, until Viktor swallowed and confirmed, “Yeah, it's… gone.”

He hummed and looked down at the blanket that was carefully pulled up to cover the severed limb, “Figured as much.”

“How is everything feeling otherwise?” Viktor pressed, kneeling down properly at Leo’s side.

“I’m not in much pain, if that's what you mean.” Leo responded quietly, “Mostly tired, I think.”

Viktor would have tried getting some information out of him, but the sound of footsteps drew near, accompanied by the sound of a flask being popped open. Phichit kneeled down on the other side of Leo and offered him the flask of water, “Nice to see you awake, names Phichit.”

Leo grabbed the flask and took a couple of measured sips from it then handed it back with a  raspy, “Thank you.”

Phichit smiled at him when he pushed up to his feet, mentioning something about checking on JJ as he walked to the other side of what was left of the fire.

Vikor pulled his legs out from under him and settled down into a comfortable cross legged position beside Leo’s body. He watched Phichit for a bit, it seemed JJ didn't feel like waking up yet, so Phichit snorted and decided to head to the back of the cave where he had stored wood and food.

Viktor was so happy. Warmth spread over his heart as he looked between JJ and Leo. They were there, they were alright. They’d be fine, Viktor was sure of it. Sure, they were a bit beat up, and perhaps it would take quite some time for them to recover, but they both woke up, so that meant they’d be fine. Viktor refused to let himself think anything else.

“Captain?”

Viktor looked down to Leo when he was called, tilting his head so his fringe was no longer in his eye, “Yes?”

“How did you escape? There… There weren't any other life boats, and not even _you_ can swim that fast. We would have seen you. They shot you too, yeah?” Leo looked blatantly at the bandages covering his chest, then flicked his eyes to the amulet around his neck. His eyes narrowed briefly, and Viktor felt his blood run cold. He quickly brought a hand up to it, blocking it from Leo’s vision.

“I was-” Viktor cut himself off immediately and looked at Phichit, who currently stared at the two from his menacing perch in the back of the cave. He couldn't tell his crew about Yuuri. As much as he wanted to paint the picture of the brave merman coming to his aide and saving him gallantly, he had promised Phichit he would not breath a word of the merfolk.

“You can tell him, may as well save him the shock of later.” Phichit piped after a heavy pause.

Viktor looked back at him incredulously, after all the trouble Phichit did of threatening him to keep quiet, he was just going to _let_ him tell Leo all about the merfolk?

“Leo will need to see Guang-Hong anyway. Tending to a bullet wound is one thing, a severed arm is a whole other beast. That's something that he’ll actually have to examine in person.”

Fair, Viktor supposed. Still, a part of him felt a little cheated at it.

Funnily enough, despite wanting to talk grand of the merfolk -Yuuri specifically - Viktor couldn't actually find the right place to start. Should he start at him being saved from the ship after he fell, or should he start when he was just a child, the first time he had been saved?

Ultimately, Viktor decided against theatrics, a feat incredibly out of character for him, and simply summarized the basic events of Yuuri saving him, Phichit and Guang-Hong helping him recover, and that merfolk are actually real things that were not made up by terrible sailors.

Leo didn't speak at all during the rushed explanation, or for a while after it. Instead, he just watched Viktor, eyes narrowed in the way they usually did when he was suspicious of something.

Finally, after a few tense minutes passed, Leo closed his eyes with a definitive, “I’m too tired for this shit.”

Viktor and Phichit laughed, but as it turned out, Leo had been telling the truth to a point as he ended up falling back asleep surprisingly fast.

“Is he alright?” Viktor grabbed Leo’s wrist to make sure his heart was still beating.

“Yeah, for now at least. You spent most of your recovery time sleeping too, I would be more concerned if he didn't sleep at all.”

Viktor watched Phichit kneel by JJ then turned his attention back to Leo. With him and JJ so hurt, he couldn't leave the island just yet, they’d be too weak. However, every day that he spent here was another day his son and crew were held hostage by that _fucking_ military. Every day closer to when they would eventually execute them, if they haven't already.

The thought sent chills down his spine.

He needed to leave, but he couldn't just leave Leo and JJ here. He drew in a heavy sigh and cradled his face in his hands, Viktor didn't know what to do.

Viktor wasn't sure how long they were in the cave, but eventually Phichit grabbed his attention by patting his shoulder, “Come on. JJ is feverish, we should get them down to what's left of the cabin. It’ll be warmer than here, and they both need all the heat they can get.”

“Alright.” Viktor stood. He was still a touch shaky on his legs, but compared to how he was even before the storm, he felt bounds better.

He gently nudged Leo with his hand, earning a weak grumble from him followed by eventually him opening his eyes. “Whas up Capt’n?”

“We’re heading back to the cabin now, how are you feeling?”

Leo shifted a bit, “I hurt, but I think I can manage walking with help.”

Viktor nodded and looked up to Phichit, who apparently finished putting JJ’s trousers back on, and was currently trying to find a way to sling him onto his back. After some attempts, he finally managed to drape the man over his back, his toes still touching the ground no matter how much phichit tried to hoist him higher. He gave up after a few more attempts.

“I’ll carry JJ down, can you handle Leo?”

“Yeah.” Viktor assured, Phichit nodded and trudged out of the cave.

Viktor grabbed Leo’s pants and squatted down next to Leo’s good arm, “are you ready?”

It was a loaded question. Standing wasn't the only thing Leo would need to prepare himself for, Viktor wanted to make sure he had braced himself properly against the oncoming shock.

Leo nodded, “Yes… Yes I think so.”

Viktor helped Leo sit up, in doing so the blanket slid from his torso, revealing the stub that was left of Leo’s writing arm. The man stared at it silently, breath hitching ever so slightly. He swallowed and then finally said, “We should go.”

While wanting to press the situation further, Viktor decided this was something Leo would have to work through on his own. Losing something like that was not something one just ‘got over’ overnight. It would take time, so for now, Viktor nodded and slung Leo’s good arm over his shoulders.

He gently pushed them to their feet. Leo had to entirely rely on Viktor for support, his legs shook violently as he tried to stand upright on his own.

“Hey, it's alright. Don't try as hard, it took me ages to stand and I only got shot.”

Leo snorted, his frustration seeping out of him in waves.

Viktor patiently waited for the man to relax against him, and when he eventually did, they were able to slip Leo’s pants on with little trouble, and head down the hill towards the cabin.

If Viktor wasn't so proud, he would have admitted that perhaps he didn't have as much strength as he liked to pretend to. At least, not currently. The rain had made the trek down the hill dangerous, water giving everything just the right amount of slip for it to make the walk down far more of a hassle than it needed to be.

Still, they did make it down in one piece. To Viktor’s concern however, Leo was largely dead weight as they approached the cabin. It had seen better days, there were a few uprooted trees leaning against it, but to Viktor’s surprise, the thing actually held together pretty decently. The roof would need repairs, and it looked like the window cracked, but all in all, could have been far worse.

He lugged himself and Leo through the door, just as Phichit was about to walk through it.

Surprised, Phichit stepped aside, and gestured for Viktor to set Leo on the bed. He did as told and carefully laid him down.

When Leo didn't make any sound or movement, Viktor glanced over his shoulder to Phichit, “Is he alright?”

Phichit frowned and shrugged his shoulders, “You spent your first days here asleep too.”

Viktor worried his bottom lip between his teeth, he hated seeing his crew like this. Whenever someone got hurt, he always just threw them at Otabek and went on with working. He didn't often have to see what went into healing them, just that after a couple of days they’d pop back out good as new.

He moved to stand beside JJ and pressed his fingers against his wrist, relieved to still feel a pulse. It worried Viktor how hot JJ’s skin was though. He brushed hair out of his face, he’d be fine. He woke up before, so he will be fine.

Phichit's shuffling grabbed Viktor's attention from JJ. He pulled a small satchel out from under the bed and was currently filling it with empty jars.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to go find Yuuri and the pod, make sure they’re ok.” He closed the bag, “And find Guang-Hong, see what he has to say about them. He’d know better how to continue to treat them from here than I do.”

The mention of Yuuri immediately sparked Viktor’s interest, “Can I come?”

Phichit stood and slung the satchel over his shoulder. He studied Leo and JJ for a moment, a small frown gracing his features. “You should probably stay with them, in case they wake up. They shouldn't be moving, and if they wake up alone they might try and look for you.”

_True._

Viktor kneeled in front of the fireplace, throwing in some wood. The wood was decently dry, but he wasn't sure how well it would light. Phichit walked past him and grabbed his flint and knife from the table, then handed it to him.

“Tinder?”

Phichit pursed his lips and glanced around the cabin, his eyes settled eventually on some old papers that were strewn about under the table. He grabbed them, working the material between his fingers, then handed it to Viktor, “Its dry enough, should work I think.”

After grabbing the paper from him, he ripped it up and scrunched the shreds into a ball-like shape. A couple of scrapes later with the knife, the ball lit up. He shoved it under the wood, then began to blow on the rising smoke.

Luckily, it seemed the wood was indeed dry enough to catch fire.

Viktor could already feel the warmth of the fire spread through the cabin. He scooted to the side of the fireplace, and made himself comfortable against the wall. Makkachin curled up beside his master with a snort.

“I’ll probably be back tonight. If they wake up I’ll probably be at the tide pools.” Phichit paused then added, “Or you could just stand on the beach and yell really loud, Yuuri’d probably come find you.”

Viktor watched Phichit leave, a small pang of jealously sparking in his gut. He shoved it down and rubbed Makkachin’s head, “Good boy.”

He was exhausted. Perhaps it was better he stayed back in the end, given he probably would have just passed out halfway to the sea cave.

As it were, the cabin was warm, Leo and JJ were safe and alive, and Viktor was surprisingly comfortable against the wall. Perfect time to let himself fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

A gently nudge on his shoulder stirred Viktor from his slumber.

“Wake up.”

Viktor yawned and batted the hand away. He rubbed his eyes and found Phichit crouching down in front of him, he got back from visiting the pod then. “How’s Yuuri?”

Phichit raised a brow, “Yuuri is fine, as is the _rest_ of the pod.”

“Right, yeah. I was going to ask that next.”

“No you weren't,” Phichit chuckled.

“What did Guang-Hong say?” Viktor inquired, not bothering to defend himself.

Shifting from his crouching position, Phichit crossed his legs and sat down fully. He didn't answer immediately, which of course raised warning flags all over Viktor’s mind.

“He doesn't know. Tomorrow morning we’ll bring them to him, and he’ll be able to assess the situation better in person.” He paused briefly, then continued with “Neither of them are out of the woods. Not by a long shot, unfortunately.”

Viktor nodded, he had figured as much. One doesn't do something like lose an arm and wake up perfectly fine the next day.

Phichit pushed himself to his feet. He unpacked his bag, setting the now full jars under the table. “Get some more sleep, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You aren't sleeping in the cabin?”

“No, I’ll be spending the night in the sea cave probably.”

Viktor squinted at him, “There aren't any beds in there though.”

He laughed, “I’ve lived on his island my whole life, I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere.”

Fair point.

“Besides,” Phichit added, “Yuuri is an excellent pillow.”

Well now he was just teasing Viktor.

“You sleep on Yuuri?” Viktor inquired.

“Yeah, sometimes. I mean, we’re clutch-mates, so we usually do everything together.”

“Clutch-mates?”

Phichit folded up the empty bag and kicked it under the bed for safekepping, “Yeah. It's like… Siblings? Basically when two or more fry are born around the same time they become a set, so they’re taught together, they eat together, and generally are just together all the time. Guang-Hong and Minami are clutch-mates, Mari and Yuuko are clutch-mates, the triplets are clutch-mates, and so on.”

“So you get _assigned_ siblings?”

“Not quite, but that's the best way I can explain it.”

Viktor stared at him for a moment, then decided he didn't really have the energy to try and pick it apart to understand. He could ask Yuuri when he sees him next, maybe hearing it from him would make more sense.

Phichit laughed at the new slump to his posture, “get some sleep. I’ll be back in the morning and we can bring JJ and Leo to Guang-Hong.”

Viktor nodded and let himself curl up beside Makkachin, using the mutt’s flank as a pillow. After watching Phichit leave, Viktor closed his eyes and let himself relax.

They would be ok. They both woke up, so they’d be fine. After all, they were his crew, right? His crew _always_ came out on top, now would be no different.

_He was sure of it._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah you all are so wonderful! Your comments just make my week, heck make my month!
> 
> Thank you all for being so patient too, I split this chapter in two so I could post something for you guys now. Though that means you guys will definitely be getting an update Friday / Saturday, since the next chapter is mostly done. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Here's to hoping these nerds make it out alive.


	5. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor finds himself in a tough situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its Saturday somewhere right? No?? Heck.
> 
> Anyway! Here is the update, took me a bit longer than expected to edit it, but I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Slow chapter, but it is the calm before the storm; so to speak.

When Viktor’s eyes opened, it was still dark in the cabin. The only light came from the softly glowing embers in the fireplace. He stretched, gently nudging Makachin off his leg and crawled in front of the dimming fire to throw in some more wood. 

After blowing on it a bit and adding some tinder, the fire slowly licked up the wood and sprung back to life. Content with this, Viktor returned to where Makachin was still asleep and leaned against the wall. 

The fire illuminated Leo’s sleeping form, he seemed peaceful enough. To Viktor's relief. At least he wasn't in pain while asleep. 

The fire casted shadows that danced along the cabin, Viktor watched them lazily as he patiently waited to fall back asleep.

Apparently, his body was awake and had no desire to go back to sleep, no matter the time of day. It was early morning, he figured, after hearing some birds chirping occasionally. Their cheerful song distant and muffled by the walls of the cabin.

The storm was over now, so viktor should be leaving. Was Phichit going to take him back now it had passed?

Leo and JJ were not fit for travel yet, and Viktor could not,  _ would not _ leave without them. Though, he was reasonably sure that Phichit was aware of this and wouldn't force him to leave without Leo and JJ. 

Still, that alone brought up another problem. His crew and son were in serious danger. If they were still in prison, they wouldn't be for long. They may be tortured for information - something Viktor would not let himself even think about - then they’d probably be hanged for their crimes.

Every day that passed here was another day his family were in prison, another day they could be killed.

Could he just leave them here? He wouldn't want to, but perhaps it would be for the best. Leo never was much of a pirate, he valued knowledge above treasure. Not really one for fighting either, sure he had killed his share of men like the rest of the crew, but it was something that clearly bothered Leo far more than it bothered the rest of the crew.

Leo would be happy here, Viktor thought, he’d be able to spend his time doing whatever he wanted. He’d probably get along great with the merfolk, Leo was a gentle sort. 

JJ would hate it though. 

JJ, like Viktor, was a man born for adventure. He would not do well being forced to sit in one place for too long. Perhaps it would be good for him though.

With a heavy sigh, Viktor pressed the back of his head firmly against the wall. Leo and JJ were their own people, we wasn't going to decide their fates for them. Neither of them were even awake right now to give an opinion, he wouldn't let himself get worked up over a decision they probably never even considered.

 

* * *

 

 

Viktor wasn't sure how long he had been leaning against the wall when Phichit came in.

“Glad to see you're still alive.” He hummed, adjusting a satchel strapped around his shoulders. 

Viktor chuckled and rolled to his feet and pushed up.

“Did they wake up at all?” Phichit inquired, stepping back a few paces to give Viktor room to stretch his stiff muscles.

“Not that I was awake for.”

A brief frown graced Phichit’s features, “I see. Guang-Hong wants to see them now, so we’ll have to carry them to the sea cave.”

Viktor nodded and as Phichit dragged JJ off the table and onto his back, Viktor did much the same with Leo. It bothered him that Leo didn't respond to the movements. He’d be fine though. He was just tired. That's all. He’d be fine.

Phichit led the way down the sand and to the shoreline where the rocks bled into the water, creating the stepping stones needed to get to the cave without getting wet. Viktor adjusted Leo in an attempt to ease some of the burning pain of his shoulder and chest. It didn't work.

Still, Leo was more important that some petty pain, so he soldiered forward, careful of the stone’s growling slickness as each wave passed around them.

He made it to the mouth just as Phichit finished settling JJ down on the cave floor. Guang-Hong as already out of the water and peering down at the man closely.

“Look at that, you did it.” Despite his praise, Phichit rushed to Viktor’s side and grabbed Leo from him, relieving the pain significantly.

Viktor rolled his shoulders and watched Guang-Hong with newfound interest. He had his hand pressed firmly against JJ’s throat, just hard enough to see the sharp nails digging into the sensitive skin there.

It took a lot for Viktor not to yell at him or push him away from JJ’s unconscious form, but he had to remind himself that Guang-Hong helped take care of Phichit over the years. He knew humans were fragile, otherwise Viktor imagined Phichit would have been dead many years ago.

Still, he let himself peek at Phichit, who had finished laying Leo down on the floor and currently sat beside the said man. He appeared to be perfectly calm, so Viktor pushed down his paranoia and let Guang-Hong do his thing.

A scowl slowly set in Guang-Hong’s features, though he didn't speak. Instead, he scooted over to Leo and grabbed the remainder of Leo’s arm and unwrapped the bandages from it. He wrinkled his nose and looked away. Some sort of retching sound came from him, which Viktor presumed was a gag, or at least the merfolk equivalent of it.

How different were merfolk from humans?

Phichit shifted a bit closer to Guang-Hong, either in concern or an attempt to console the merman. Or maybe a bit of both, Viktor wasn't sure.

After a couple moments passed, Guang-Hong looked back at the now open wound and sniffed it,  _ sniffed it. _

Viktor did not envy that man’s position. 

The merman pulled back and grabbed a jar of salve from the bag Phichit carried, and uncapped one of them. He handed the open jar to Phichit who then took the medicinal goo and coated the bandages he also pulled from his bag with it. 

“There isn't any infection, luckily.” Guang-Hong started, “However I do smell something isn't quite right with it, which means there may be the beginnings of one. The only thing we can do if keep the bandages fresh and the wound clean, hopefully that will keep infection at bay long enough for it to heal properly.”

Changing the bandages would be no problem, even Viktor could do it. He prayed that would be enough and Leo could make a full recovery. Or, as full of one he could make with the loss of an arm.

Guang-Hong moved back over to sit by JJ and gestured for Viktor to come closer. He obeyed immediately and sat down across from him on the other side of JJ’s body.

A cold hand pressed firmly against his forehead, to Viktor’s surprise. He shied back from the touch briefly, then pushed his forehead back against the hand, after seeing the other rest on JJ’s own forehead. Was he checking their temperature?

“JJ has a fever,” he mumbled slowly, “A high one.”

Guang-Hong turned to Phichit, releasing Viktor’s forehead in the process, “Did you find any open wounds on him?”

Phichit shook his head, “No.”

“He may have some sort of human sickness then…”

Concerned by the dread-filled tone, Viktor pressed, “What do you mean?”

“Merfolk and humans have different illnesses that affects them. Like scale rot, humans cannot get it and by extension wouldn't know how to treat merfolk that have it. Well, the opposite applies here, I know next to nothing about human illnesses.” He explained, “The little I do know is from Phichit, and that is only involving illnesses he has had.”

Viktor swallowed the lump in his throat and brushed some sticky hair out of JJ’s face. He was abnormally hot, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat. 

“I wish Otabek was here, he’d fix them both up no problem.”

A weak laugh met Viktor’s mumble, surprising all three of those awake. Enough so that Guang-Hong actually fell into the water with an ungraceful splash.

“Didn't mean to scare you.” Leo apologized, his voice wavering slightly from exhaustion. But he was awake, that was all that mattered.

Just hearing his voice had sent a wave of relief washing over Viktor.  _ Thank God, _ he was still doing alright. “Don't worry about it.”

Guang-Hong heaved himself out of the water with a grumble, though there was a trace of a smile on his lips, so Viktor figured he wasn't actually all that upset. If upset at all.

He shook his arms free of water, through the glistening on the red scales trailing down his arms to the flared fins along the back of his forearm showed he wasn't all that successful. When satisfied with his dry he was, he leaned over Leo, eyes narrowed into thin slits. 

For a brief moment he actually thought Guang-Hong was going to attack him. Leo evidently thought the same thing as his entire body stiffened when the merman leaned over him. He glanced over to Phichit again to gauge his reaction, who like before was largely unfazed. He did have a small frown, though Viktor figured it was more at Leo’s obvious fear of Guang-Hong than Guang-Hong himself.

Viktor moved closer to Leo and patted his shoulder, “Don't worry, he’s a friend.”

Leo looked up at him briefly, but relaxed a noticeable amount. Though he was still visibly tense. Any sailor in their right mind would be fearful of merfolk, with the stories surrounding them. Drowning sailors, luring them to their death with their songs, crashing their ships, they were fearsome creatures. 

Yet Viktor had yet to see any of the merfolk demonstrate abilities even remotely similar. Could they actually do half the things legends spoke of them? He doubted it. While tempted to ask, Viktor decided against it, if for nothing else than out of respect.

Guang-Hong pulled away from Leo, “His eyes are not clouded, and he has a decent reaction time, both of which are good signs.”

At least Leo was showing signs of getting better. JJ would be fine too though, he was sure of it.

Leo’s weak voice snapped Viktor’s attention back to reality. “Are you  _ actually _ a mermaid?”

Guang-Hong raised a brow and regarded him, eyes going to a more human-like state as they flicked over Leo’s face, searching for something. After a moment, he responded airily, “Merman, but yes, I am.”

He brought his red tail out of the water enough for Leo to see, the blue fin at the end of his red tail flaring out for dramatic effect, based on the humored snort coming from Phichit.

Leo shifted his elbow under him and tried to push himself up, but Phichit was faster and firmly pressed him back down, “Dont. We don't need you straining yourself and getting worse, like an idiot.”

The blatant glance at Viktor was wholly undeserving.

He threw his hands up in defense, “I’ve yet to open any wounds, I’ll have you know.”

Phichit’s black eyes narrowed, “That you  _ remember.” _

“They both need their rest still.” Guang-Hong piped up in a feeble attempt to keep peace.

After leaning back on his hands, Phichit inquired, “Should we set up something in here for them? So you can see them whenever? And so Viktor doesn't have to strain himself trying to carry Leo again.”

“Captain?” 

“He’ll be fine,” Phichit waved Leo’s concerns off, “Probably.”

“I am actually perfectly fine, Phichit and Guang-Hong took care of me.” Viktor assured softly, placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder. The man relaxed more after the contact, so Viktor just kept his hand there for comfort.

“They’d probably be more comfortable in your home.” Guang-Hong pointed out, “Plus you humans are so sensitive to things, I don't know if them being on the floor could make then more sick.”

“Hm. True.” Phichit concided after a moment of thought. “We’ll just have to bring them down every day then.”

It’ll be a lot of work, Viktor was sure, but they were of his crew,  _ his family, _ Viktor would do anything to keep them alive. He swiftly shoved the thoughts of his son and the rest of the crew out of his mind, he could plan later.

He watched Guang-Hong slide into the water instead, “You can bring them back to the cabin now, but keep a close eye on JJ.” He warned, “His fever is worrisome.”

“I will.” Phichit assured and with a grunt pushed himself up. He moved over to JJ and carefully hoisted the man up and onto his back. 

Had this been in any other context, he would have laughed. JJ’s legs were far too long for Phichit to properly carry him on his back, leaving his feet to drag on the floor despite his best effort.

However, since it appeared Guang-Hong was concerned for him, he found it hard to see the humor in the situation.

When Phichit left the cave, Leo took the chance to sit up. Viktor had half a mind to push the man back down, but decided sitting up would be good for his muscles or something. He didn't know.

He glanced back at the pool to find Guang-Hong already gone, probably left when Phichit did. Viktor reached out and patted his back, “Feeling alright?”

“Not particularly, to be honest.” He chuckled dryly.

Viktor forced a smile, “You will be in no time, don't you worry.”

It didn't seem to cheer Leo up any, though his mind appeared to be in other places, judging by how he looked over the pool in silent reverence.

“Mermaids are  _ real _ .”

Viktor chuckled at Leo’s wonder.

“Was that - was that the same one you said saved you?” He inquired, turning his attention away from the pool and to his Captain.

“No, the one that saved me was Yuuri, his podmate.”

Leo’s eyebrow hitched up at the name, though did not comment on it, to Viktor’s surprise. “Is this  _ Yuuri _ , also the one that saved you when you were younger?”

“Both times.”

An impressed whistle was his only immediate response after that.

Leo did speak up again after a few beats, “What are you going to do now?”

“Well I wait until you and JJ recover, Phichit wouldn't kick us off the island unless you two are healthy again, I’m sure.” Viktor looked over his shoulder to the cave mouth, “Then we go find the rest of the crew, save them, and get back to normal.”

“You… wouldn't come back?”

“Can't, too likely to bring the Navy hot on our tail after this. If they came here, they might discover Yuuri’s pod.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Leo hummed softly, “Would you be happy though?”

Viktor looked back to his sea artist in surprise, mouth opening and closing as Viktor tried to find the words to assure him that he’s be perfectly happy.  _ He would. _

Thankfully, he didn't have to respond as Phichit trotted back into the cave. “Alright, time to get you up to the cabin now.”

He dipped to his knees and threw Leo’s arm over his shoulders, and the two then carefully got to their feet, making sure not to jostle Leo’s severed limb any more that necessary. 

Viktor watched them leave the cave, then decided he should probably head up himself. He rolled forward onto his knees then up onto his feet. Before he turned to the cave mouth however, he noticed the maps he had found when he first came to this cave.

He could bring them to Leo. 

He crouched down and gathered up a couple of the papers, but stopped before he added another to the pile - he shouldn't. Leo just lost his drawing hand, perhaps bringing him maps would be rubbing salt in too fresh a wound.

So he set the papers back down, maybe he could bring them another day, when he didn't hurt as much.

Viktor turned and padded out of the cave. Just as he began picking his way from rock to rock a voice sparked his attention.

“Viktor!”

He paused mid-step, wobbling a bit to keep himself balanced and looked over the ocean, to see Yuuri’s face above the gentle waves. Beaming in unbridled joy, Viktor decided to hell with it, and waded into the ocean to meet Yuuri halfway.

The cold water licked at his calves as he went deeper into the ocean, eventually stopping when the water reached mid-thigh. Yuuri came to meet him, using his arms as support to keep his head and some of his back above water, since it was likely too shallow for the merman to actually swim properly.

Yuuri stopped a little over an arm length away from him, to Viktor’s disappointment. Though he wasn't really sure what he should have expected. He seemed pretty keen on personal space.

“Guang-Hong told me about your crewmates.” Yuuri’s voice was soft, “Are you alright?”

Viktor smiled, “I’m fine, it's them I’m worried about.”

Yuuri’s eyes narrowed at him. He studied him briefly before responding curtly, “You're lying.”

With a weak laugh, Viktor deflated. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked past Yuuri’s face to his long tail, “Yeah… JJ isn't doing too well, and Leo…” He sighed, “I’m worried about how he is going to recover.”

A hand pressed against his thigh, to Viktor’s surprise. He looked down to see Yuuri had moved himself closer and rested his webbed hand on him. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Viktor shook his head, waving off the apology and turned to tread back to the rocks. He hoisted himself back onto them and sat down, letting his legs hang back in the water. 

After a moment, Yuuri followed and rested his arms on the ledge Viktor was on, he crossed them and rested his chin on his forearms. “I’m sure they’ll be ok. You took a while to recover too.”

A soft grunt was Viktor’s response. 

He knew that he took time to recover, and that they would too - but every day he was here, it was another day the rest of his crew were in prison. If they were even still alive now.

“My crew, the rest of them, are captured. Pirates - what we are - are criminals that are usually hanged right after they are arrested.” Viktor leaned forward on his elbows, “They could still be alive. Yet the longer I stay here, the more of a chance they’ll be dead when I come to try and save them.”

“What are you going to do?”

“... I don't know.” He hung his head, “I can't leave without Leo and JJ, I  _ won't. _ They’re just as much of my family as the rest of the crew.”

Viktor couldn't imagine what the prison guards would do to Yuri, he is so loud and outspoken. It would be a miracle to find him mentally and physically the same, much less  _ alive _ for that matter.

He hears Yuuri shift beside him, but does not glance up until a hand is once more placed on his thigh. Viktor gives a brief smile and returns his gaze back over the ocean.

He could hear some birds nesting on the island. They were loud squawky little sky rats, but Viktor always found a strange comfort in them. Which was odd, as he never really saw seagulls growing up. Too cold, and he never lived close enough to a body of water to see them until he was older. 

His hand moved up to his pendant, squeezing it between his fingers. With luck, his son and crew would be deemed too important to kill right off the bat and would try and pin them for information. Even then though, it wouldn't take too long. That, and the possibility of his son getting tortured made Viktor sick.

Viktor looked back to his right, where Yuuri was still resting. He no longer had his hand on Viktor’s thigh, instead it was tucked back under his head. His red-black eyes were trained on the cave, though Viktor doubted Yuuri was actually looking at something versus just starting off into space.

The sun shined off of the merman’s hair brilliantly. While not iridescent like his scales, it had an unusually silky appearance. It looked impossibly soft, which, it probably was. If he were Phichit he’d take any chance to run his hands through Yuuri’s hair too.

Curiosity and a lack of care for personal boundaries promoted Viktor to reach out and gently lay a hand on Yuuri’s head. He could feel the merman tense up under the sudden touch, yet he didn't make an effort to move away, which as far as Viktor was concerned, was a good sign.

He gently ran his fingers through the black hair. It as just as soft as it looked. Viktor wasn't sure how to describe it, but it was unlike any human hair he had ever felt before, it was more fine and soft. It slipped between his fingers like water would, feeling sort of like silk. 

No wonder Phichit was playing with it the first time Viktor saw Yuuri.

Seeing as Yuuri didn't voice any complaints, Viktor took it as an ok to continue, and turned towards him to run both hands through his hair. He tilted his head a bit to look at Yuuri’s face, wanting to be sure it didn't bother him, and found the merman’s eyes were closed. 

Viktor snorted a laugh, earning a half-hearted grunt from Yuuri, “Oh come off it.”

His cheeks hurt from smiling so much. 

“Yuuri?” Viktor inquired, as he watched the hair strands floated back into place when he pulled away briefly. “Are all merfolk’s hair so soft?”

Yuuri warbled some lazy form of “I don't know.”

“I’ve never met a human with hair like yours.”

“Probably because they serve different purposes.” Yuuri hummed softly.

Viktor considered the notion. It wouldn't make much sense to have hair underwater unless it served a specific function he supposed. Whenever he swam his hair always just got in his eyes and was annoying. He gently combed through the locks, they seemed to sort of flow back into their natural place,  _ incredible. _

“It helps us sense vibrations in the water.” Yuuri mumbled into his arms, answering Viktor’s unspoken question.

“Wow.”

Yuuri laughed, though did not respond after that. Viktor wondered what it being touched felt like. His hair - or whatever you would call it - would likely be pretty sensitive, and yet he seemed to actively enjoy having it played it.

“It doesn't hurt right?”

Yuuri tilted his head a bit to glance at Viktor with a half-open eye, raising the brow associated with it.

“When I touch your hair I mean, it seems like it’d be really sensitive.”

Yuuri shrugged, “It doesn't hurt. I’d tell you if it did.”

Viktor reasoned he had a point there.

“I imagine it’s no different that someone playing with your skin or something. If you pulled on it, that’d hurt. You're gentle, though, so it feels nice.”

A warm glowing sensation filled his chest, he felt so honored that Yuuri trusted him enough to actually sit there and let him run his fingers through his hair. Viktor was sure this was something that he would not let just  _ anyone _ do.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while after that. Viktor’s hands stilled eventually, leaving just one hand resting on Yuuri’s head while he stared out over the sea. It wasn't late enough for the sun to set, but it was definitely past noon.

Movement in the water caught his eye. Two heads bobbed above the water briefly before disappearing. He scanned the ocean until they appeared again, this time close enough for him to actually see facial features.

They were mermaids, both having relatively short hair, though the older of the two’s hair was noticeably longer, coming to a bob just above her shoulders.

He felt Yuuri’s ear flick against his wrist as he sensed them and turned his head. Upon seeing them Yuuri stiffened and pulled away from Viktor’s hand immediately, much to his disappointment.

Yuuri swam out to meet them halfway, curling his long tail underneath him so it wouldn't hit the rock.

The younger of the two women - though she still seemed older than Yuuri - wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer to her, tugging on one his is hears as she groused something to him that Viktor couldn't hear.

She then turned her attention to Viktor with narrowed eyes, evidently sizing him up.

“Mari,  _ manners.” _ The elder one scolded sternly. She then turned to Viktor with a pleasant smile, “I am Katsuki Hiriko, this is Katsuki Mari of Hiriko.”

Viktor recognized those names instantly, they were Yuuri’s mother and sister. He scrambled to his feet and bowed, “It is an honor to meet you both. I am Viktor.”

Hiriko was delighted by his actions and laughed a boisterous laugh. It was a bright and cheery sound, like Yuuri’s laugh. He loved it. 

Mari gave something akin to a snort, “The whole Pod knows who you are, Yuuri, Phichit, and Guang-Hong, won't shut up about you and the other two humans you have.”

“I am so happy to see you recovering so well!” Hiriko giggled behind her hand, “You and your pod can stay here as long as you like. It's good to see Phichit socializing with other humans, he doesn't leave the island that much, I worry about him.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the offer.” Viktor was deleighted. To have the Queen’s approval would definitely be brownie points with Yuuri. 

Though, if it were up to Viktor, he would be leaving sooner rather than later. He needed to save his family.

“Mom.” Yuuri grumbled, “Phichit’s fine.”

Mari pressed her cheek to the top of Yuuri’s head and bared her sharp teeth, “Of course  _ you’d _ think that, you're his clutch-mate, stupid.”

Yuuri snorted and bit back, “How’s Minako?”

Mari made a show of looking offended, though the slight smile in the corner of her mouth hinted otherwise.

“We’re going hunting,” Mari turned her attention to Viktor, eyes less scrutinizing this time, “so we’ll be stealing your  _ swain _ since he is the only one fast enough to keep up with our fish of choice for the day.”

Yuuri swatted her shoulder, a deep blush tinting his rounded cheeks.

Hiriko ignored her children and pointed a motherly smile at Viktor, “It was lovely to meet you finally. Yuuri had gotten into quite some trouble from my mother when he rescued you, I’m glad he did.”

Viktor cleared his throat, “Th-thank you, Your Highness.”

“Let's go, we don't want that sailfish Minako spotted to get out of our territory.” Mari urged, finally releasing her brother.

Yuuri raised a brow at her, but didn't comment. Instead he turned to Viktor with an apologetic smile. 

Feeling his heart flutter almost violently in his chest, Viktor knew he was in  _ way _ too deep. Leaving was going to hurt.

That wouldn't be for at least another few days, Viktor reminded himself. He could enjoy the time he has here now, make memories to look back on. 

With the thought of the future heavy in his chest, Viktor pipped with forced cheer, “Well, I wouldn't want to keep you. Best I go check up on Leo and JJ anyway.”

Hiriko and Mari disappeared under the water with a goodbye, though Yuuri stayed above. He looked at Viktor, furrowed brows studied him. “See you later.”

“Not like I can go anywhere.” Viktor laughed, though even to his ears it was horribly fake.

Yuuri frowned, visibly conflicted, but then disappeared under the water to follow his family. 

When he was sure Yuuri was gone, he rid himself of the fake persona. He ran a hand through his silver hair and heaved a sigh, he needed to get back to the cabin. Phichit hadn't come looking for him, so he figured the man was probably still with Leo and JJ. 

Viktor was sure he had other things to do.  So he stepped back along the stones and began the drudge up the sandbank to the cabin. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will take a bit to come out, since according to my outline, it'll be super long. I may do what I did with this and the last chapter, but otherwise it may be two or so weeks before I get the next one out! 
> 
> So sit tight until then. Thank you all for reading so far, I'm just so happy you like this so much ;;u;;


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